Point guard Jose Alvarado sparked a 9-0 run midway in the second half to change the momentum and lead Georgia Tech to a 65-54 win over visiting Prairie View A&M on Friday in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jackets trailed by as many as nine points early in the half before Alvarado turned the tide with a 3-pointer and two driving baskets. The sophomore finished with 15 points - all in the second half - and added six assists and three rebounds.
The game was the final contest in the Deep South Showcase, a round-robin event played on college campus sites.
Georgia Tech (4-1) was unable to put away the pesky Panthers until an 8-0 run over the final five minutes of the game. Prairie View endured a scoreless streak of about 4 1/2 minutes before Gary Blackston made a pair of free throws with 56 seconds left and failed to score a field goal in the final 5 1/2 minutes.
Georgia Tech also got 14 points from Brandon Alston and 10 points from Curtis Haywood II. James Banks III came off the bench to lead the team with nine rebounds and posted three blocks for the third consecutive game.
Prairie View (1-6) was led by Blackston, an All-SWAC selection a year ago, and his 19 points. The senior guard was 6-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the line with nine rebounds and two assists.
Devonte Patterson added 16 points and Chancellor Ellis scored nine for the Panthers. Only five players scored for Prairie View.
Prairie View, playing its seventh road game in 15 days, came out with plenty of energy and took a 27-26 lead at halftime. Georgia Tech was 0-for-9 on 3-pointers in the first half and lacked the defensive intensity it had on Wednesday, when the Yellow Jackets limited Texas-Rio Grande Valley to 11 first-half points.
Georgia Tech plays again on Wednesday at Northwestern in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. Prairie View plays again Dec. 1 at Murray State.
--Field Level Media
Prairie View A&M | Georgia Tech | |
Gary Blackston 19 | Scoring | Jose Alvarado 15 |
Gerard Andrus 4 | Assists | Jose Alvarado 6 |
Gary Blackston 9 | Rebounds | James Banks III 9 |
Gary Blackston 7 | Free Throws Made | Brandon Alston 4 |
Devonte Patterson 2 | Steals | Jose Alvarado 4 |
N/A | Blocks | James Banks III 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Prairie View A&M | 54 | 37.5 | 5-18 | 13-16 | 8 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 15 |
Georgia Tech | 65 | 47.1 | 4-17 | 13-20 | 14 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 11 |