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Playing in their third consecutive road game, the Yellow Jackets landed their biggest win of the young season, defeating VCU 76-73 in overtime. With the game tied at 73 in overtime, senior PG Josh Heath hit a jumper, putting the Jackets ahead for good. Tech tried to give the game away down the stretch, missing 3 of 4 free throws, but the defense held true as the Rams missed two 3-point attempts in the waning seconds.
Georgia Tech was led by junior SG Tadric Jackson, who scored a team-high 24 points off the bench. Jackson caught fire in the second half, scoring 19 of his points after the break. This game was a return to form for Jackson, who had scored 12 points in the previous 3 games after leading the team in scoring early in the season.
Jackson was joined in double figures by junior C Ben Lammers and senior F Quinton Stephens. Q had 12 points and 8 rebounds while The Laminator had another great all around game, putting in 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Lammers still leads the nation in blocks per game, at 4.71.
The freshmen saw limited playing time in a hostile environment. Starting PG Justin Moore struggled against VCU’s attacking press, turning the ball over 6 times and ceding most of his playing time to the more experienced Heath. Okogie’s playing time was also limited in favor of the hot-shooting Jackson.
One of the game’s highlights came courtesy of senior G Corey Heyward. With 0.6 seconds left in the first half, Heyward took an in bounds pass and drained a shot from the opposing three point line to extend the Jackets’ lead to 36-28. Heyward scored 5 points in 32 minutes but his hustle on both ends played a big part in Tech’s victory.
Georgia Tech will now take a ten day break for finals (good luck in particular to mechanical engineering major Ben Lammers, who reportedly has two finals on Thursday) before returning to McCamish for a game on December 18th against Alcorn State. Tipoff will be at 2:00 pm and the game will broadcast on ACCNetwork Extra.