Tech Takes Down Wake Forest in ACC Opener at McCamish
Yellow Jackets Employ Tight Defense and Good Shooting to Stifle Visitors in 92-79 Win
Georgia Tech is tied for first in the ACC standings. That’s what a smiling Josh Pastner noted post-game Saturday after his Yellow Jackets bested Wake Forest. Granted, it’s early in the season. Saturday was Day One for much of tbe league. Still, 1-0 is a good situation to be in. Pastner’s counterpart, Wake Forest coach Danny Manning, said his plan coming in was to make Tech take outside shots. The strategy did not work, largely because of the offensive prowess displayed by Tech’s junior forward James Banks. Banks had his best scoring game at Tech in his first ACC action. He scored 20 points on 9 of 11 shooting, most from short range. Wake’s plan to minimize his inside effectiveness was, well, ineffective. Manning noted that Banks has unusual skills for a big man, including good footwork and good hands. The Tech forward used those skills to good result in this game in which he scored the first points and his team never trailed. It’s a bit early to deem Tech an offensive juggernaut, but Saturday’s performance was a definite confidence booster for Pastner’s squad. Hitting 57% from the field, they scored 59 second-half points to reach the 90 point plateau for the first time this season.
The two teams entered the game with similar resumes. Tech was 7-6, while Wake stood at 6-5. Coincidentally, each team had lost to both Tennessee and Gardner-Webb. Neither team has been picked to finish high in the ACC, and this game was the league opener for both.
The Yellow Jackets quickly had the best of it out of the gate. Banks hit a short hook to start the scoring and Alvarado added 2 free throws to build an early 6-2 lead. Meanwhile, Tech’s defense clamped down to hold Wake Forest to 2 points over the first 4 and a half minutes. That narrow lead was maintained through the first half, and just before halftime, Michael Devoe pushed it to 33-25 with a 3- pointer born of a blocked shot by Banks moments earlier.
The second half saw more of tbe same. Along with Bsnks’ 20 points, Michael Devoe added 16 and Jose Alvarado chipped in 13. Brandon Alston added 14 in his 20 minutes off the bench, and Evan Cole added 9. Both Alston and Cole hit big baskets in the second half to stave off the Demon Deacon’s attempts to rally back.
Tech was outstanding from the free throw line in the second half , hitting 22 of 28, and 82% for the game. Khalid Moore, Alvarado and Alston each were a perfect 6 of 6 from the line. Several of those were pressure bonus one-plus-one chances late in the second half, allowing Tech to fend off tbe Deacons down the stretch. The visitors were led by Brandon Childress with 28, including 7 of 10 from 3-point range. 3 of those deep shots from Childress came from seemingly impossible launch positions imposed by Tech’s defense in the last 2 minutes. But the Jackets’ precise free-throw shooting held forth for the 92-79 win.
Pastner praised Alvarado’s overall game, noting his 7 assists against no turnovers. He also noted the continued improvement of Devoe, who seems to be evolving rapidly after missing 6 weeks early on from an ankle injury.
Georgia Tech takes on Virginia Tech Wednesday at McCamish. The 10th-ranked Hokies are 2-0 in the ACC and will present a big challenge to Pastner’s crew. The Tech coach acknowledged as much and hopes for another day of good defense boosted by effective offense for his Yellow Jackets.
Patrick Conarro