Tenth Tech Throws Terrific

The tenth seeded Yellow Jackets held off Oklahoma State in the Midwest region opening round of the NCAA tournament Friday. Georgia Tech took a 64-59 decision over the Big 12’s best 3-point shooting team to improve their record at Wisconsin’s Bradley Center to 5-0 in the tournament. The Yellow Jackets advanced to the second round, where they will face second seeded Ohio State, by securing a stellar 24-of-25 from the charity stripe. Seventh seeded Oklahoma State boasted more tournament experience than the Yellow Jackets, but Tech held a favorable size advantage.
Stammering Georgia Tech struggled to hit buckets from the field in the final quarter after hammering the game’s first six shots. The Yellow Jackets were rescued by excellent free throw shooting and aggressiveness. James Anderson, the nation’s third leading scorer, was held to less than 15 points for just the fifth time this season in the Cowboys’ loss. His season average is 22.6. Anderson knocked down 11 points and grabbed five rebounds for 22-11 Oklahoma State. He missed all six attempts from downtown and was just 3-of-12 from the floor. Marshall Moses added 14 and Keiton Page had 13 points for the Cowboys, including three 3-pointers. Page gave Oklahoma State the biggest lead of the game during the first half on a steal at midcourt. The tiny Cowboys guard gave his team a 34-27 lead but it was hardly sufficient for the 96% free throw shooting Jackets. Tech was led by junior forward, Gani Lawal. Lawal finished with 14 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes. He was 4-for-4 from the line. The free-throw challenged Yellow Jackets (65%) scored their final 13 points from the line Friday.
Senior guard and second leading scorer for the Cowboys, Obi Muonelo, closed out the first half by banking one of his ten shots. Oklahoma State forged a five point halftime lead but the Jackets learned to play through their scoring droughts with a stingy defense in the second half. Georgia Tech took a two point edge on Zachary Peacock’s jumper with 13 minutes remaining, and held a three point lead for three minutes as both teams exchanged offensive woes. Peacock, Tech’s most efficient free throw shooter, was also perfect from the line Friday. Anderson tied the game with an uncontested slam dunk on a Derrick Favors swipe. Favors came within a rebound of a double-double for Georgia Tech. But even the Big 12 player of the year, Anderson, couldn’t stop the Jackets from notching free throws. Head coach, Paul Hewitt’s Jackets continued to guard and rebound with ferocity.
Favors, the ACC freshman of the year, drained a pair of free throws with 2:27 left, and Iman Shumpert converted two more after drawing a foul for a 62-59 Tech advantage. It was a lead the Jackets wouldn’t relinquish. Shumpert was the only Yellow Jacket to miss a free throw in the final four minutes. The Cowboys’ attempt to set up a shot at the other end went for naught. Maurice Miller stripped Anderson of the ball and bucketed two free throws to seal the win for Tech. The turnover proved to be critical. Miller went 6-for-6 in the last two minutes of the game. The Cowboys fell to 38-23 all-time in the tourney. They never quite found their rhythm against a Tech team that lost five of seven headed into the tournament. Oklahoma appeared frazzled in the frantic final quarter as the Yellow Jackets put the sting in their saddle. They were outscored by ten points in the second half and were out-rebounded 28-17 during the contest. Travis Ford’s Cowboys end their season Friday on a sour note in what was likely the suppressed All-American Anderson’s final collegiate appearance.

Parting Points: Song to start the Spring-“The One I Love”- R.E.M.