On Saturday afternoon, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets thwarted the early threat from the Syracuse Orangemen with a come-from-behind victory at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. Moses Wright put in a full shift today, leading the team in minutes played (40), points scored (31), and rebounds (16). Today’s win marks his third-straight double-double.
Syracuse’s Alan Griffin and Quincy Guerrier kept the Georgia Tech on their heels as they battled their way to a 39-34 lead at halftime. Griffin led the Orangemen with 26 points while Guerrier followed with 13 of his own. While Syracuse enjoyed a soft lead in the first half, it was Tech that won the battle of the second half.
Moses Wright’s dunk in the early minutes of the second half kicked off a run that would push Syracuse to its limit. They would never regain the lead after.
With 41 rebounds and nine steals, Georgia Tech, as a team, continued to apply an insurmountable amount of pressure to help seal the win. That balanced approach can be seen on the stats sheet. While Jose Alvarado had an off-night with just four points, the remaining starting-five were there to support.
Forward Jordan Usher, scored 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, accounting for the second-highest point total for the team. Guard Michael Devoe got in on the action with 18 points of his own, while dishing out six assists as well as rebounds. A team total of 26 assists is the most in an ACC game since 1994 when they had 26 assists against Maryland.
Georgia Tech improved to 9-6 in conference play and guaranteed itself winning ACC records in back-to-back seasons since 1989 and 1990 (both 8-6). They’re three games over .500 in the ACC for the first time since March 3, 1996 and improved to 7-1 at home in ACC games this season.
The Yellow Jackets will finish out their conference play as well as their last home match against the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday, March 2 at 8pm ET.
-Jon J.
Photo: Hakim Wright