Georgia Tech Survives Upset Bid From Howard, Moves to 2-0

Georgia Tech had to battle back from a double-digit deficit to beat Howard

Georgia Tech was back in action tonight for their second game of the season. The Yellow Jackets hosted Howard and GT was hoping for a 2-0 start after downing Georgia Southern by 22 points on Monday night. 

Howard was not an opponent that was going to roll over for Georgia Tech and they led by double digits in this game, but Georgia Tech would battle back and secure the victory late. 

Coming into tonight's game, Howard was 1-0 this season after getting a 92-80 win in their opening game vs Hampton. Howard won the MEAC last season and made the NCAA Tournament as a 16 seed and lost in their opening game against Kansas. Howard was picked as the preseason favorite in the MEAC and had three players (Shy Odom, Marcus Dockery, and Jelani Williams).

Georgia Tech went with a starting lineup of Tyzhaun Claude, Kowacie Reeves, Amaree Abram, Tafara Gapare, and Miles Kelly for tonight. 

On Monday, it was the offense that got off to a slow start, while the defense was fine for most of the game. Tonight, it was the opposite. 

The Yellow Jackets offense had a great start, but they had a hard time stopping the Bison in the first half. 

Georgia Tech spent much of the first half trailing. The first timeout came in the first five minutes of the game and the game was tied 13-13. GT shooting 75% to start, and Howard is 67%. Claude had six points and Reeves had five.

While Georgia Tech started out hot, they fizzled through the first half. The Yellow Jackets trailed Howard 47-41 at the half and while Howard is a respectable opponent, Georgia Tech was playing poor defense in the first half. 

Georgia Tech finished the first half shooting 40% from the field and 22% from three-point range and went 1-10 to finish the half, including not being able to score in the final two minutes of the game. Claude led the way for Gt with 12 points and Reeves was also in double digits with 10. Kelly had seven points on 3-11 shooting. 

Howard had a great half-shooting. The Bison shot 58.1% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range, with 28 points in the paint. Bryce Harris led Howard with 15 points. 

Georgia Tech had a hard time guarding Howard in the first half / Georgia Tech Athletics

The second half did not get off to a great start for the Yellow Jackets. 

Three minutes into the second half, Howard was on a 10-2 run and had 14 14-point lead on Georgia Tech. 

However, Tech was able to get three straight stops in the game and cut the lead back to 10 and then they really got the energy going. 

Georgia Tech went on an 11-0 run and they did with better defensive energy. They held Howard scoreless over the next four minutes and with 13:04 left in the game, Georgia Tech had cut the lead to 57-54. 

A couple of possessions later, Deebo Coleman hit a really deep three to tie the game 59-59. 

As quick as they got the lead back though, Howard hit two buckets to get five quick points and take the lead back with 10:48 left in the game. Howard would hit four of their next five shots to take a 69-64 lead.

Free throws were a huge issue for Georgia Tech tonight. The Yellow Jackets only hit 11 of their first 21 at the line and with the score as close as it was. Miles Kelly, who was a great free throw shooter last season, did not have a good night at the line. 

Trailing 79-76 with a little more than four minutes remaining, Coleman hit a really tough basket and got fouled and went to the free throw line to tie it, but the bad luck at the line continued and Howard remained ahead by one. 

A few possessions later, Kelly hit the go-ahead bucket to take a two-point lead, and then after a defensive stop, Kelly hit another bucket to extend the lead to four. 

Howard cut it back to two with under a minute to go, but Kelly and Claude made sure the lead stayed with Georgia Tech on the next possession and then it turned into the foul game and Georgia Tech needed to make their free throws in order to secure the win. Kelly did that and Georgia Tech escaped a tough test from a good Howard team at home.

88-85 was the final score. 

Georgia Tech shot 44.2% from the field for the game and 22.2% from three. Kelly had another big second half and finished with 27 points. Claude had 19 points and Reeves had 15. 50 of Georgia Tech's 88 points came in the paint. Georgia Tech spent most of the game trailing but found a way to get a win at home. 

Howard shot 50% from the field and 28.6% from three. Odom had 22 points, Strong had 18 points, and Harris had 17 but fouled out. 

Georgia Tech is back in action at home next Tuesday against UMass-Lowell. 

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