Abdoulaye Gueye came off the bench to match his career-high 16 points and Georgia Tech rolled to an 87-57 win over visiting Kennesaw State on Friday in Atlanta.
Gueye was 7-for-7 from the floor and was 2-for-3 from the line. The senior added a season-high eight rebounds, one shy of his career best, and three assists.
The Yellow Jackets, who have struggled to shoot the ball, had no such problems on Friday afternoon. They shot 60 percent from the field in the first half and 45.5 percent on 3-pointers. They finished with a season-high 56.5 percent overall and 36.4 percent on treys.
The biggest shooting improvement was from sophomore Jose Alvarado, who was 3-for-20 in his previous game against Georgia last Saturday. Alvarado shot 4-for-7 and scored 10 against Kennesaw State.
Georgia Tech (7-5) also got 11 points from sophomore Evan Cole, 10 points from senior Brandon Alston, and 10 points from sophomore Moses Wright, who had six rebounds and five assists.
Kennesaw State (3-11) was led by junior guard Tyler Hooker with 17 points. The junior was 6-for-10 from the field, 2-for-3 on 3-pointers, and led the Owls in scoring for the 10th time. Junior Bobby Parker added 14 points, 10 of them coming in the second half.
The Yellow Jackets put the game away with a big scoring spurt early in the game. The 14-0 run that included three straight baskets by James Banks III, the last one a dunk to complete a fast break. That gave Georgia Tech a 19-3 lead with 12:13 left in the first half.
Another 11-0 run late in the half, started and finished with baskets from Wright, enabled the Yellow Jackets to extend their lead to 38-17 with 3:36 left. Georgia Tech led 49-23 at the break.
The win helped Georgia Tech even the score against the Atlantic Sun Conference; the Yellow Jackets were beaten by A-Sun member Gardner-Webb on Dec. 15. The 87 points were one shy of the team's season-high 88 in the season opener against Lamar.
Tech improved to 3-1 all-time against Kennesaw State, located about 20 miles in the northwest Atlanta suburbs.
Georgia Tech plays again on Jan. 2 against USC Upstate. Kennesaw State plays at Yale on Jan. 2.
--Field Level Media
Kennesaw St. | Georgia Tech | |
Tyler Hooker 17 | Scoring | Abdoulaye Gueye 16 |
Danny Lewis 6 | Assists | Michael Devoe 6 |
Danny Lewis 4 | Rebounds | Abdoulaye Gueye 8 |
Tyler Hooker 3 | Free Throws Made | Michael Devoe 3 |
Tyler Hooker 1 | Steals | Michael Devoe 3 |
Bryson Lockley 1 | Blocks | Abdoulaye Gueye 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Kennesaw St. | 57 | 41.2 | 6-18 | 9-14 | 17 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
Georgia Tech | 87 | 56.5 | 8-22 | 9-10 | 29 | 31 | 4 | 10 | 12 |