Dec. 30, 2014
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ATLANTA (AP) – Marcus Georges-Hunt knew that Charlotte would make a run at Georgia Tech.
The question in Georges-Hunt’s mind was how well the Yellow Jackets would respond.
“That’s where the toughness comes in,” he said. “Mentally, you have to be strong and be able to attack them and play aggressive and play defense and keep your head.”
Georges-Hunt scored a career-high 25 points, Charles Mitchell and Quinton Stephens each added nine points and Georgia Tech edged Charlotte 67-66 on Tuesday night.
Travis Jorgenson drove the ball past Mike Thorne Jr. on the Yellow Jackets’ final possession and bounce-passed to Georges-Hunt on the left side. Rather than pull up for a mid-range jumper, Georges-Hunt went straight to the basket and scored over Thorne for the game’s last basket.
After Charlotte coach Alan Major called timeout with 1.9 seconds remaining, Terrence Williams missed a fadeaway 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Georgia Tech (9-3) has won six of eight.
Jackets coach Brian Gregory was pleased that Georges-Hunt was moving into position while Jorgenson was dribbling down the right side.
“Marcus took advantage of it and attacked the basket,” Gregory said. “He finished with authority. That was a big-time finish.”
Pierria Henry, whose two free throws with 11 seconds remaining gave the 49ers a one-point lead, finished with 14 points. Williams had 13, Torin Dorn added 12 and Willie Clayton, who fouled out, scored 10 for Charlotte (6-6).
The 49ers, who were coming off a three-point loss Saturday at Georgetown, have dropped four of six.
“You’ve got to give credit to Georgia Tech’s defense in the first half,” Henry said. “They had us a little discombobulated.”
Chris Bolden hit a 3 to give Georgia Tech its first double-digit lead at 23-12, and the Jackets were up by as much as 12 late in the first half.
But Charlotte, which hadn’t led since the game’s first minute, went up 42-41 on Dorn’s layup with 11:13 remaining.
Charlotte took its biggest lead at five, going ahead 47-42 after Henry hit a pair of free throws and a layup on a four-point possession that included a technical foul on Stephens.
“We came back in the second half and really set the tone,” Major said. “We got ourselves back to scoring in the paint.”
Georges-Hunt’s previous career high was 23 points against Wake Forest last Feb. 1.
The 49ers began the game 0 for 10 on 3s before Keyshawn Woods’ trey put them up 51-49 at the 7:22 mark. Charlotte dropped to 1-9 against Georgia Tech, 1-4 in Atlanta.
Led by Charles Mitchell and Marcus Georges-Hunt with seven apiece, Georgia Tech had 35 rebounds, nine more than Charlotte, and has won the boards in all but one game this season. The Jackets, who rank 10th nationally in offensive rebounding, had 15 on their end of the floor.
“Those 5 offensive rebounds led to 17 second-chance points,” Gregory said. “We finished much better today. Our last game out, we did not finish around the basket. We did today.”
Georgia Tech opens its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule on Saturday at No. 14 Notre Dame.
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— GT Men’s Basketball (@GTMBK) December 31, 2014
