Georgia Tech 80, Georgia 73: Quinton Stephens hit six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 22 points as the host Yellow Jackets beat their in-state rival for the fourth consecutive time.
Charles Mitchell – a transfer from Maryland – poured in a career-high 20 points with nine rebounds in his debut for Georgia Tech (1-0). Stephens finished 7-for-11 from the field, Marcus Georges-Hunt scored 11 points and Demarco Cox added 10 points and eight boards.
Nemanja Djurisic scored 18 points to lead Georgia (0-1), which trailed by as many as 16 points late in the first half before pulling within 74-71 inside the final minute. Marcus Thornton finished with 12 points while Kenny Gaines added 11 off the bench.
Thornton’s basket with 14:39 to play brought the Bulldogs within 50-46, but Mitchell converted a layup and dunk on consecutive possessions while Stephens’ 3-pointer with 9:17 left gave the Yellow Jackets a 64-55 lead. Kenny Gaines’ 3-pointer and J.J. Frazier’s layup pulled Georgia within 74-71 with 34 seconds to play, but Travis Jorgenson hit two free throws eight seconds later and Gaines missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
Yante Maten’s layup with 6:52 remaining before halftime brought Georgia within 24-21, but Stephens hit two 3-pointers during a 16-3 surge as Georgia Tech built a 40-24 advantage on Mitchell’s jumper with 2:40 left before intermission. Djurisic’s third 3-pointer of the first half beat the buzzer to bring Georgia within 42-32 at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Stephens’ previous career-high point total was 13, against North Carolina State on Jan. 26, while Mitchell’s previous-best effort of 19 points came for Maryland against Delaware State on Dec. 29, 2012. … Gaines, who battled mononucleosis for the past three weeks, did not start but finished with 11 points. … Georgia finished 5-for-20 on 3-point attempts.
Georgia | Georgia Tech | |
Nemanja Djurisic 18 | Scoring | Quinton Stephens 22 |
Charles Mann 6 | Assists | Marcus Georges-Hunt 5 |
J.J. Frazier 5 | Rebounds | Charles Mitchell 9 |
Nemanja Djurisic 5 | Free Throws Made | Tadric Jackson 4 |
Nemanja Djurisic 2 | Steals | Marcus Georges-Hunt 3 |
J.J. Frazier 2 | Blocks | Demarco Cox 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Georgia | 73 | 41.9 | 5-20 | 16-21 | 16 | 31 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
Georgia Tech | 80 | 44.4 | 7-19 | 17-27 | 13 | 39 | 5 | 7 | 12 |