Back in the win column with multiple contributors
Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball defeated Texas Southern 61-62 on Tuesday night in McCamish Pavilion, a largely stress free occassion, but a very welcome stress free occassion after losing to North Florida two days prior.
Naithan George led Tech’s scorers with 19 points and six assists, of which he was one of five Tech players in double digit scoring (Javian McCollum, Lance Terry, Baye Ndongo, Kowacie Reeves, Jr.).
Damon Stoudamire went with a very short bench, only pulling Terry, Duncan Powell, and Ibrahim Souare off the bench. Everyone in the starting five and Terry played at least 24+ minutes. Doryan Onwuchekwa got the start in place of the injured Luke O’Brien, who according to Damon Stoudamire could play on Friday.
“I started [Doryan Onwuchekwa] tonight. Was really proud of him. He didn’t make a shot but he had nine rebounds and gives us a physical presence. He’s long and as he gets more comfortable is going to be someone everyone is going to like watching,” said Stoudamire.
This was only the second time in any sport according to our database that Georgia Tech and Texas Southern have gone head to head and the first time in men’s basketball. The previous matchup was a volleyball game in 2014.
How it happened (there wasn’t much plot so forgive my brevity)
Both sides had plenty of early fouls. Tech was slow going to get an offensive rhythm until a Kowacie jumper then steal n dunk got the energy up. Ndongo and George followed with 3’s for 12-10 lead. A scuffle resulted in the ref literally saying “the play is under review because I didn’t like it.” Offsetting technicals were awarded to both teams (Ibrahim Souare and Alex Anderson).
Flagrant 1 called on Josh Farmer. Ensuing 4 points from free throws and possession put Tech up 10. Offense clicking now to a 42-21 doubled lead at Texas Southern’s first timeout at 3:40 1H. Texas Southern got hit with another flagrant 1 foul, this time on Duane Posey near the end of the half. A Naithan George three put Tech up 49-25 at the break.
Tech offensively was far less dominant in the second half, and even though they pushed the lead to 30, they still had a six minute stretch with only four points scored. Texas Southern hit a 6-0 run with under five minutes to go prompting Damon Stoudamire to call timeout up 18 points. The lead was in no danger this late in the game though as Tech still easily came out with the win.
First impressions for me
This was my first game in person, so some initial impressions:
- So nice to see Lance Terry back out there. Between him and Ndongo, they felt like the most reliable dudes on the court in this early stretch. “[Baye]’s good when he pays attention to detail. The one thing I love about Baye is that he challenges me as a coach…and for me when he’s locked in and doing the little things, he’s a better player,” said Stoudamire after the game of Ndongo. This was one of those kinds of games for him.
- ITexas Southern I wouldn’t necessarily call a major test for our defense, but after how we looked against North Florida, this certainly was a step in the right direction. I’m glad we had a stronger presence on the offensive boards (14 second chance points).
- Kowacie Reeves 3’s feel like they occupy the same space as a Threebo 3. I have no objective reasons why this is, but they seem to inhabit the same space in my Georgia Tech Basketball watching brainspace.
- Of everything that’s sticking out to me so far, it’s that this team is not well rounded yet. Multiple times I saw our own guys competing for an uncontested rebound. We still look clunky underneath the basket. Plenty of shots got left short. But, this is only game 3 of the season. Traits like this are to be expectd for a team at our level. The thing I will be possibly most curious about this season is how they grow into a more consistent team, whatever that means for a Stoudamire team.
- I loved Naithan George’s energy when asked about the uga game on Friday: “it’s personal.” ‘nuf said. THWg.
Georgia Tech next plays Friday, 8 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion against uga on Dennis Scott jersey retirement night.