Georgia Tech Downs Duquesne 73-67

Georgia Tech once again struggled early against a smaller opponent, but controlled the second half for a victory that was closer than it needed to be.  They trailed 36-35 at halftime but turned it around for the win.

Georgia Tech won by forcing Duquesne to shoot uncharacteristically poorly, especially from deep.  For the season, they shoot 54.9% on twos and 37.6% on threes.  In this game, they only shot 44% from inside the arc and 32% deep.  Derrick Colter, who on the season is averaging over 17 points a game, shot only 4-17 for 9 points.  On the other side, Georgia Tech took advantage of some weak perimeter defense to shot 44% from 3.  Adam Smith hit four three-pointers and Georges-Hunt went 2-4 from deep.

The Dukes were lead offensively by Micah Mason with 17 points on 6-12 shooting, 5-10 from three.  Forward Eric James pitched in 11 points while L.G. Gill and Colter ended with 9 each.  On the Jackets side, the starting lineup really carried the scoring.  MGH put in 20 points, Adam Smith scored 17, and Nick Jacobs helped with 13 points.  The bench was unusually quiet, only accounting for 12 points with no player scoring more than 5.  Charles Mitchell failed to get his double-double with 7 points and 10 rebounds.

This game concludes a solid, if unspectacular, non-conference schedule for the Jackets before they head into ACC play.  They are now 10-3 with victories over VCU, Tennessee, and Arkansas.  Georgia Tech starts of conference play with a rough schedule.  They start 2016 with a game away at #9 North Carolina on Saturday, January 2nd before heading up to #25 Pittsburgh, and finally back down to Atlanta for their ACC home opener against #5 Virginia.