Georgia Tech 61, Rider 54: Charles Mitchell scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half and collected 12 rebounds as the Yellow Jackets held off the Broncs in a consolation game at the Orlando Classic.
Demarco Cox added 10 points and eight boards for Georgia Tech (4-1), which will face Rhode Island in Sunday’s fifth-place game. Marcus Georges-Hunt chipped in 10 points as the Yellow Jackets overcame a 2-of-15 effort from the 3-point line by outrebounding Rider 49-26, including 19-4 on the offensive end.
Matt Lopez finished with 13 points and five rebounds for Rider (2-4), which meets Santa Clara in Sunday's seventh-place game. Shawn Valentine and Zedric Sadler each tallied nine points while Teddy Okereafor contributed seven points, five assists and three steals, offsetting his 0-for-6 performance beyond the arc for the Broncs.
Georgia Tech held a seven-point edge with less than 6 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half when Valentine and Lopez combined for the first eight points of a 10-2 spurt that gave Rider a one-point advantage with two minutes left. Cox’s layup right before the break tied it at 30 and following Okereafor’s bucket just seven seconds into the second half, the Yellow Jackets rolled off the next 11 points before the first media timeout.
A layup from Valentine and 3-pointer from Sadler keyed an 10-2 surge that rallied Rider within one with 7½ minutes left, but a three-point play by Mitchell during a 7-0 burst allowed Georgia Tech to breathe easier at 54-46. Lopez converted back-to-back jump hooks to cut the Broncs’ deficit to four with just over two minutes to go before Georges-Hunt and Tadric Jackson combined for five free throws to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Georgia Tech won for the first time in three tries against Rider in the first meeting between the schools since 1933. … Rider’s 30 first-half points were three shy of its total from its previous two games against Kansas (22) and Michigan State (11). … The Yellow Jackets have outrebounded all five of their opponents, enjoying at least a plus-12 margin in each of their last four contests.
Rider | Georgia Tech | |
Matt Lopez 13 | Scoring | Charles Mitchell 15 |
Teddy Okereafor 5 | Assists | Josh Heath 2 |
Matt Lopez 5 | Rebounds | Charles Mitchell 12 |
Teddy Okereafor 3 | Free Throws Made | Marcus Georges-Hunt 6 |
Teddy Okereafor 3 | Steals | Demarco Cox 1 |
Kahlil Thomas 2 | Blocks | Demarco Cox 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Rider | 54 | 41.2 | 3-19 | 9-14 | 9 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 8 |
Georgia Tech | 61 | 37.9 | 2-15 | 15-20 | 5 | 41 | 3 | 5 | 12 |