Georgia Tech looks to stay perfect against Eastern Kentucky
After a dreadful end to last season for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, first-year Yellow Jackets coach Scott Cross has the goal of breathing life back into a struggling program.
The Yellow Jackets (2-0) will look to remain perfect for the young season when they face Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech lost its final 12 games last season to finish 11-20 and hired Cross to replace Damon Stoudamire, who was fired.
Two games into the new era, a predominantly revamped Yellow Jackets roster has meshed to post a pair of double-digit wins.
Lehigh transfer Nasir Whitlock and San Jose State transfer Colby Garland have averaged 16.5 and 13.5 points per game, respectively.
"They're super close and they complement each other really, really well," Cross said of the two new backcourt pieces. "I think they really like each other. We can move them around and they're also able to create shots for the rest of their teammates."
Cross' group beat Georgia Southern 95-83 on Friday, already matching last season's highest-scoring output in a game. While still a small sample size, scoring in the 90s is a welcome sight for a team that tied for 15th in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an average of 73.8 points per game last season.
"I feel pretty good about us playing the right way," Cross said. "We're still working on how to make reads out of the offense. Just trying to improve their basketball IQ and how to play within the system."
Eastern Kentucky (2-0) will play its first Division I opponent on Tuesday following blowout wins over NAIA members Kentucky Christian and Midway. The Colonels rank fifth in Division I with an average of 105.5 points per game, but Tuesday certainly will be a steep test for coach A.W. Hamilton's team.
Guard Jackson Holt has averaged 12.5 points per contest against two outmatched teams.
"Jackson Holt is an unusual player in college basketball; you don't see guys in programs for five seasons," Hamilton said. "It's been great having him, not only because he is a tremendous leader for us, but he's one of the winningest players in program history."
Yvens Paul, a three-year starter for Hamilton, also averages 12.5 points and a team-high 9 rebounds per game.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:44 | TV timeout | |||
| 11:44 | Colby Garland turnover (traveling) | |||
| 11:53 | +2 | Justin McCarter makes two point layup (Omer Hamama assists) | 15-9 | |
| 12:02 | Kayden Allen turnover (traveling) | |||
| 12:17 | Victor Valdes defensive rebound | |||
| 12:19 | Omer Hamama misses two point jump shot | |||
| 12:24 | Justin McCarter turnover (lost ball) (Cole Kirouac steals) | |||
| 12:24 | Jump ball. Justin McCarter vs. Cole Kirouac (Cole Kirouac gains possession) | |||
| 12:29 | Justin McCarter offensive rebound | |||
| 12:31 | Austin Ball misses two point jump shot | |||
| 12:36 | Colby Garland turnover (Justin McCarter steals) | |||
| 12:39 | Shadrak Lasu personal foul (Kayden Allen draws the foul) | |||
| 12:45 | Kaiden Bailey misses three point jump shot | |||
| 13:10 | Shadrak Lasu turnover (Kaiden Bailey steals) | |||
| 13:16 | Shadrak Lasu defensive rebound | |||
| 13:18 | Moustapha Diop misses three point jump shot | |||
| 13:29 | +3 | Justin McCarter makes three point jump shot (Shadrak Lasu assists) | 13-9 | |
| 13:55 | +2 | Colby Garland makes two point jump shot | 10-9 | |
| 14:13 | +1 | Justin McCarter makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 10-7 | |
| 14:13 | +1 | Justin McCarter makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 9-7 | |
| 14:13 | +1 | Justin McCarter makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 8-7 | |
| 14:13 | Kaiden Bailey shooting foul (Justin McCarter draws the foul) | |||
| 14:28 | Ilja Kurucs personal foul | |||
| 14:31 | Drae Vasser defensive rebound | |||
| 14:33 | Nasir Whitlock misses two point jump shot | |||
| 14:49 | +2 | Yvens Paul makes two point layup (Shadrak Lasu assists) | 7-7 | |
| 15:10 | Shadrak Lasu defensive rebound | |||
| 15:12 | Kaiden Bailey misses two point jump shot | |||
| 15:19 | Moustapha Diop offensive rebound | |||
| 15:21 | Kaiden Bailey misses two point jump shot | |||
| 15:38 | TV timeout | |||
| 15:38 | Damone King personal foul (Nasir Whitlock draws the foul) | |||
| 15:48 | Jackson Fields defensive rebound | |||
| 15:50 | Austin Ball misses three point jump shot | |||
| 15:55 | Shadrak Lasu defensive rebound | |||
| 15:57 | Kam Craft misses three point jump shot | |||
| 16:03 | Ilja Kurucs defensive rebound | |||
| 16:05 | Damone King misses two point jump shot | |||
| 16:16 | Shadrak Lasu defensive rebound | |||
| 16:18 | Shadrak Lasu blocks Kam Craft's two point layup | |||
| 16:27 | Kam Craft defensive rebound | |||
| 16:29 | Drae Vasser misses three point jump shot | |||
| 16:47 | Colby Garland turnover (Yvens Paul steals) | |||
| 16:51 | Jackson Fields defensive rebound | |||
| 16:53 | Damone King misses three point jump shot | |||
| 17:01 | Nasir Whitlock turnover (Austin Ball steals) | |||
| 17:06 | Nasir Whitlock defensive rebound | |||
| 17:08 | Drae Vasser misses three point jump shot | |||
| 17:22 | +2 | Colby Garland makes two point layup | 5-7 | |
| 17:27 | Colby Garland offensive rebound | |||
| 17:29 | Kam Craft misses three point jump shot | |||
| 17:36 | Nasir Whitlock offensive rebound | |||
| 17:38 | Nasir Whitlock misses three point jump shot | |||
| 17:45 | Kam Craft defensive rebound | |||
| 17:47 | Damone King misses two point layup | |||
| 18:03 | +2 | Jackson Fields makes two point layup (Kam Craft assists) | 5-5 | |
| 18:20 | +3 | Austin Ball makes three point jump shot (Damone King assists) | 5-3 | |
| 18:52 | +3 | Nasir Whitlock makes three point jump shot (Tylis Jordan assists) | 2-3 | |
| 19:02 | Nasir Whitlock defensive rebound | |||
| 19:04 | Damone King misses two point jump shot | |||
| 19:32 | Yvens Paul defensive rebound | |||
| 19:34 | Jackson Fields misses two point layup | |||
| 19:46 | Nasir Whitlock defensive rebound | |||
| 19:46 | Damone King misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
| 19:46 | Jackson Fields shooting foul (Damone King draws the foul) | |||
| 19:46 | +2 | Damone King makes two point layup | 2-0 | |
| 20:00 | (Colonels gains possession) |
| Min. Per Game | ||
| Pts. Per Game | ||
| Ast. Per Game | ||
| Reb. Per Game | ||
| Field Goal % | ||
| Three Point % | ||
| Free Throw % |
| Colby Garland turnover (traveling) | 11:44 |
| |
+ 2 | Justin McCarter makes two point layup (Omer Hamama assists) | 11:53 |
| Kayden Allen turnover (traveling) | 12:02 |
| Victor Valdes defensive rebound | 12:17 |
| Omer Hamama misses two point jump shot | 12:19 |
| Justin McCarter turnover (lost ball) (Cole Kirouac steals) | 12:24 |
| Justin McCarter offensive rebound | 12:29 |
| Austin Ball misses two point jump shot | 12:31 |
| Colby Garland turnover (Justin McCarter steals) | 12:36 |
| Shadrak Lasu personal foul (Kayden Allen draws the foul) | 12:39 |
| Kaiden Bailey misses three point jump shot | 12:45 |
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Points | 15 | 9 |
| Field Goals | 5-14 (35.7%) | 4-14 (28.6%) |
| 3-Pointers | 2-6 (33.3%) | 1-6 (16.7%) |
| Free Throws | 3-4 (75.0%) | 0-0 (0.0%) |
| Total Rebounds | 7 | 12 |
| Offensive | 1 | 3 |
| Defensive | 6 | 9 |
| Team | 0 | 0 |
| Assists | 4 | 2 |
| Steals | 3 | 2 |
| Blocks | 1 | 0 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 5 |
| Fouls | 2 | 3 |
| Technicals | 0 | 0 |
|
| Team Stats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| E. Kentucky 2-0 | 105.5 PPG | 57.5 RPG | 23.0 APG |
| Ga. Tech 2-0 | 85.0 PPG | 52.0 RPG | 13.5 APG |
| Key Players | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
00
|
. McCarter G | 12.0 PPG | 5.5 RPG | 2.5 APG | 73.3 FG% |
|
00
|
. Garland G | 13.5 PPG | 3.5 RPG | 5.0 APG | 57.1 FG% |
| Top Scorers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. McCarter G | 8 PTS | 1 REB | 0 AST | ||
| C. Garland G | 4 PTS | 1 REB | 0 AST | ||
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| J. McCarter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| O. Hamama | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Holt | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| M. Camara | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| M. Miles | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Dujmovic | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| A. Owens | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Lowe | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Murphy | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| B. Hardison | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 15 | 7 | 4 | 5/14 | 2/6 | 3/4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| C. Garland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| N. Whitlock | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| J. Fields | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Craft | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0/3 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| T. Jordan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| C. Garland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| N. Whitlock | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| J. Fields | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Craft | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0/3 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| T. Jordan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| K. Allen | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| M. Diop | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| V. Valdes | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K. Bailey | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| I. Kurucs | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Muldrew | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. McVey | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| H. Harper | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Cross | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 9 | 12 | 2 | 4/14 | 1/6 | 0/0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 9 |