Final Stats | USATSI Gallery | Danny Karnik Gallery
Nov. 11, 2013
ATLANTA (AP) – Trae Golden hit his first four shots and went on to lead all scorers with 16 points Monday as Georgia Tech struggled a bit before beating Delaware State 68-50 in McCamish Pavilion.
Golden, a senior guard who transferred from Tennessee over the summer to be closer to his ailing father in metropolitan Atlanta, finished 7-of-10 shooting, but he and the Yellow Jackets (2-0) had just a single-digit lead late before closing well against the Hornets (1-1).
Sophomore forward Marcus Georges-Hunt had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, and fellow sophomore forward Robert Carter Jr. added 11 points and blocked five shots.
Delaware State junior forward Tyshawn Bell was the only Hornet to score in double figures with 15 points.
The Hornets stayed within striking distance by holding their own in the rebounding battle (Georgia Tech won by a modest 30-28 count), hitting a few 3-pointers (6 of 22) and preventing the Yellow Jackets from getting out and running as much as the home team did in an 88-57 season-opening win Friday over Presbyterian.
Georgia Tech led 31-18 at halftime, and the Yellow Jackets’ margin hovered in that range for most of the second half before Delaware State pulled within 50-42 on a trey by Bell with 5:29 left in the game.
The Yellow Jackets responded with a 9-0 run that was punctuated when Georges-Hunt grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the floor with a Hornet on each shoulder and then converted a layup at the other end while being fouled by Kendal Williams. That wound up being a 3-point play, and the Jackets would hit 18-of-20 free throws on the night.
With a few more minutes of trading baskets, the Jackets finally made a 3-pointer when Georges-Hunt hit one from the top of the circle with 2:17 left for a 62-47 lead. They had missed their first seven attempts.
Georgia Tech next plays Friday at Georgia while Delaware State will finish an ACC back-to-back road trip with a game at Clemson.
