Tech withstands UGA rally
UPDATED, 10:45 p.m. Georgia Tech guard Mfon Udofia reversed direction on Georgia guard Vincent Williams and, eschewing caution, drove hard to the basket. On his path, he was tripped by Georgia center Donte’ Williams and flipped the ball off the backboard.
The shot was followed by an official whistling the foul and then the roar of the sellout crowd at McCamish Pavilion as the ball, to Udofia’s surprise, dropped through the basket. Ahead at the time by five points with just under a minute remaining, the play buffeted Georgia’s late comeback attempt as the Yellow Jackets prevailed 62-54 over the Bulldogs Tuesday night.
“Mfon made some senior plays,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said.
The win gave Tech its second consecutive win over Georgia since winning three in a row 1992-94. The Jackets improved to 5-2 while Georgia dropped to 2-6. Tech coach Brian Gregory, who last season led Tech to its first win in Athens after 13 consecutive losses, singled out Udofia and fellow senior Pierre Jordan in the locker room regarding the accomplishment.
“I told those guys that will never be taken away from them,” Gregory said.
Udofia played 31 minutes on a sprained ankle that hobbled him and caused him pain when he made cuts. He finished with 12 points, his fourth consecutive game in double figures, two assists against two turnovers and impact beyond the numbers.
“I think he’s really the difference maker for them,” Fox said. “I think he’s a much better player than he was a year ago, and in previous years.”
For Udofia, who had his lower leg encased in a walking boot after the game, there was little chance of keeping him out of his final Georgia game.
“It’s the Georgia game, so my adrenaline was running,” he said.
The biggest difference between the two teams Tuesday was from the perimeter. Tech shot 33.3 percent from the field and Georgia shot 31.6 percent, but the Bulldogs were 2-for-17 from 3-point range while Tech was 9-for-21. Forward Marcus Georges-Hunt and Udofia were both 3-for-6, while guard Chris Bolden was 2-for-2.
Udofia and Georges-Hunt dropped critical bombs with under seven minutes to play. Georgia had rallied from as far back as 15 points early in the second half to draw to 48-42 with 7:08 remaining on a jumper by Brandon Morris. On the next possession, Udofia took a pass from guard Brandon Reed near the top of the key and nailed the jumper to push the lead to 51-42. After Georgia guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed a three on the other end, Tech gained four points on a possession that included three offensive rebounds, a made free throw by forward Robert Carter and then a three from Georges-Hunt.
Hunt’s three was made possible by center Daniel Miller’s rebound of a missed Carter free throw.
“We made a couple of big-time hustle plays,” Gregory said.
The cushion provided by the two 3-pointers helped Tech withstand a last Georgia rally. Tech led 55-42 with just under four minutes to go, but an 8-0 run closed the gap to 55-50 with 2:07 remaining. That set the stage for Udofia’s drive at the basket with 58 seconds to go.
Said Udofia, “I was surprised it went in.”
Caldwell-Pope again led Georgia with 16 points, but shot 5-for-18, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range. Reed was Tech’s principal defender on Caldwell-Pope, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer in each game they’ve played.
“I thought Kentavious started the game very emotionally, and I don’t think we got him calmed down until about halfway through the first half,” Fox said. “I thought he was wound up and therefore took a couple shots that just show his inexperience as a player.”
Besides Caldwell-Pope, Georgia had no other players in double figures in scoring. Forward Marcus Thornton (seven points, three rebounds) was not able to provide much help, playing 16 minutes due to foul trouble in both halves.
“Our scoring has worried me for quite some time,” Fox said. “We’re not scoring the ball at an efficient enough rate to win. We need some more guys to step up and finish plays.”
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111 comments Add your comment
Buzz2011
December 5th, 2012
8:28 am
I didn’t know the Dawgs had a basketball team?
Looks like they could use 40 or so 5 star recruits…
Milledgeville Dawg
December 5th, 2012
8:41 am
We DO NOT have D-1 talent, point blank!!
Birmingham Jacket
December 5th, 2012
8:41 am
I can’t stand basketball.
You realize of course, that had we not wasted all this money on a stupid new arena, and a new coach on a stupid sport, that sucks, we would be able to afford a real football coach and a real D. coord., right?
Hugh D.
December 5th, 2012
8:52 am
We need to give Coach Fox time. He will be able to build this team into one that can be competitive with Georgia State and KSU on a regular basis. Dawg fans need to take along term view.
Hugh D.
December 5th, 2012
8:53 am
On the other hand the way things are going for Tubby in Minnesota we could always ask him to come back or maybe Jimmy Harrick would return for the right incentives.
GT-06
December 5th, 2012
9:02 am
Good win Jackets. Wish they had hit their free throws at the end but it’s ok. We need to get Holsey involved to have long term success. I’m not sure why Jason Morris can’t feed anyone in the post when they’re wide stinking open. He’s one heck of a defender though.
Marcus G-Hunt is bay far the best freshmen. I’m not too impressed with Carter. He clearly rushes his shots, takes wayy too many 3s and seems out of shape a little. Boldon is solid. Udofia has certainly stepped up this year but P. Jordan needs to provide better back-up minutes.
THWG!
GT65
December 5th, 2012
9:06 am
Loved it..Go Jackets!
Superior
December 5th, 2012
9:11 am
It’s so nice beating those losers. Not only are we superior in life, but sports, too. go get an sec group hug to make you feel better. Losers. I’ve never seen a fan base so exciting about finishing 2nd in the SEC. This is why y’all are worthless at life too.
observer
December 5th, 2012
9:12 am
Georgia fans are saying they need a “big name” coach. What makes you think any big name coach wants to coach BB in Athens, the graveyard of college coaches. Neither do any top recruits want to go play in the uga barn before a half full house. uga will never have a quality BB program.
Veteran Fan
December 5th, 2012
9:24 am
Uga tried hard in the second half or it would have been a blowout! The TV timeouts also really helped them as they were exhausted and short of timeouts as Coach Fox used them to stop Tech scoring runs. Tech dominated the game and were never threatened. Good team with NCAA potential barring key injuries. If Julian Royal can get going offensively, Tech will be unstoppable with one of the best front lines in college basketball! Defense and rebounding is awesome! Uga should do well in a very weak SEC this year. Tech should finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th in the ACC. THWG. Go Jackets!
Mr BUG
December 5th, 2012
9:28 am
To all the classy Georgia fans posting congratulatory statements – Thanks!!! Although I wish we could have beaten you as badly as you beaten us in football a couple of weekends ago; but I guess this will have to do. Look forward to playing you all in baseball (which is usually an even match-up)
PS- Don’t listen to the vitriol of some of the TECH fans that post here (we certainly don’t own this state).
collegeballfan
December 5th, 2012
9:31 am
I would agree that Gregory needs to tell Carter “Thou shall not shoot the three”.
Folks this is just the second year of a rebuilding period for GT basketball. Tech will have a losing record in the conference and will not make the NCAA’s this season.
Poole is eligible the last week of December I understand. How much impact he has will be critical to finishing better than predicted.
Ken, please address Julian Royal. He is one of only 4 big men on the team. When we get into conference play we will need his 5 fouls.
Douglas
December 5th, 2012
9:44 am
We need Tevester Anderson to come recruit for UGa — is he still even alive? Best BB recruiter UGA ever had in BB. Fox just cannot recruit that well — too many average players who don’t seem to be getting any better. If McGarity likes the direction this program is going in, he must like losing.
just the truth
December 5th, 2012
9:44 am
Where are all the trolls at? Let me guess ……. we don’t like basketball. With that said …. we don’t like baseball either. Most people don’t when your not good at it. A fan is a fan regardless.
William Casey
December 5th, 2012
10:00 am
This was a good win. UGA’s team played HARD or the Jackets would have won by 20+. The dawgs are very athletic but not very skilled with the exception of Pope. GT will be competitive this year with the best depth in years. They’ll be GOOD next year. I admire Udofia. He’s a tough kid who wants it. Royal will be OK. He’s going through a “crisis of confidence” at the moment.
Jacket Dad
December 5th, 2012
10:03 am
Way to go Jackets! I’m excited about the progress we are making and feel Gregory is off to a good start. It’s so refreshing to see our team actually play as a team and to experience fundamentals. That’s been missing for a long while!
Douglas
December 5th, 2012
10:07 am
Just the truth…hey jerk…how many times has UGA beaten you in the college playoffs? I guess you forgot about that. And when was the last time Ga Tech won a national championship in ANY sport? I didn’t think so. Other than the women’s tennis team, you don’t have much to talk about in sports.
juvenal
December 5th, 2012
10:14 am
shows how much more civilized roundball is, that the posts are more polite & erudite-wince that most of the pointless posts from our side-Carter used to being the giant amidst smurfs, he will learn to play big boy ball, hear conditioning is still part of Julian’s need to improve list-i know it is hard for some folks to believe some people like basketball better than what american football is deteriorating into, more legalese & gladiatorial than a sport($port)-& real football too, for that matter, most of the world enjoies more, though just being more numerous doesn’t always make something better……
Otis
December 5th, 2012
10:17 am
Little ole Davidson College, just northwest of Charlotte, would put a real whupping on both those Ga. teams. And they start 5 lil’ ole white boys.
Joey
December 5th, 2012
10:30 am
Last year was bad for the BB Dawgs, and we went into the SEC schedule 9-5
Right now, 2-6 and haven’t played a SEC game yet. And considering the teams that we have lost to so far, you can’t look at the schedule and find another W.
This season could be historically bad.
Like, 5-26 bad.
jim
December 5th, 2012
10:40 am
Ga. needs a coach who can recruit—Fox is not the answer. All the talent in the state leaves the state.
Pooch
December 5th, 2012
10:44 am
I’m truly relieved to see Mfon back in there with the bad wheel; that injury could’ve been much, much worse. Great win for the Jackets. They need to spend more time in practice on the FT shooting. Mfon was 80% FT shooter in HS. Hoop is the same length in H.S. as college. He needs to get back to that level IMO before ACC play begins and those FTs make the difference between winning and losing.
BobinBuford
December 5th, 2012
10:48 am
Where is Sammy Dawg today? He said yesterday that this was going to be UGA’s “statement game”.
Great atmosphere last night – love the students sitting on the sidelines like at Cameron instead of the older alums who would occasionally wave a pom-pom. This was a game that we would have lost under the CPH regime – either they would have messed up an in-bounds play, or rushed a shot with 20 seconds left on the shot clock. This team did not fold when the lead was down to 5 – instead they just buckled down and won the game.
I believe that the ghost of CPH was advising Mark Fox last night. You use your last timeout with 2:38 left in the game when the worst that would have happened is a jump ball situation and the arrow in your favor. Then later on, when there was only 1 second on the shot clock, Fox was left without a timeout to call a play. Result – shot clock violation when the shot that was put up missed the rim.
I was also wondering why the SEC refs decided to not call fouls until the 2nd half – 1st half, neither team was in the double bonus – 2nd half, both teams. And a note also to those guys – when a team is down by 9 with 6 seconds left, you don’t have to call a foul on a shot – you left other similar fouls go uncalled during the game. So instead of losing by 9, they lost by 8.
briant
December 5th, 2012
11:40 am
Tech looks pretty competitive so far. UGA looks terrible- thought Fox would do better than this. Their guards are awful, and D Williams has been a big bust. Pope can’t do it all.
Adobe, Car Made of Clay, Sun Bowl
December 5th, 2012
11:54 am
UGA fans actually do support basketball. Football is just more important, as it is in most SEC schools. We are just forced to turn our heads each year to avoid the horror, as UK does during football season. I wish our AD gave a $%#m about basketball.
Adobe, Car Made of Clay, Sun Bowl
December 5th, 2012
11:59 am
Looks like “Superior” (at WOW and D&D) is a little bitter about his annual football beatdowns, paying to get humiliated by a Sun Belt Team at home, empty stadiums, fans jumping out of the stadium to avoid the game, being 6-7 (soon to be 6-8), and also being 2nd in his conference (at 6-7, nice conference).
bill
December 5th, 2012
12:01 pm
Mfon had a very, gutty effort last night. You could see he was hurting in 2nd half. His 2 air ball 3 point shots late had no leg in the shots whatsoever. He played his heart out and made a spectacular layup after those missed attempts.Can’t say how much I am impressed with his play compared to last 3 years.Tech is a young team that will need Mfon, Miller and Kam to step up if they are to contend for an NCAA spot.
Looking at the ACC, Tech could finish as high as 5th with some luck. But 7th -8th is more reailsitic . VT, Clem and Md are better than pre-season predictions. But so is Tech. This could be fun again, watching Men’s basketball. They are young and need to learn how to close out games.. But there is a high ceiling for this team that we haven’t seen more than once or twice over last 7 years. Tech fans should enjoy watching this team grow and get better.
Adobe, Car Made of Clay, Sun Bowl
December 5th, 2012
12:04 pm
“Man falls from upper level of Charlotte stadium during ACC Championship game”
What is it with you guys? I know you’re bad, but come on.
Try to reign in the 10-15 that will be at the bowl game.
JacketSteve
December 5th, 2012
12:06 pm
All I heard on the sports radio stations a couple years ago was them talking about how great of a coach Mark Fox was, and how bad of a shape the Tech program was with Hewitt. Looks like times have changed, or should I say, have gotten back to the way things are supposed to be in this town. GT Basketball is back on the rise. WE OWN THIS STATE!!!
Jmonty
December 5th, 2012
12:08 pm
Just glad we can beat UGA in something… Nice job!!! Keep up the good work!
pcb mike
December 5th, 2012
12:11 pm
Every game the team shows improvement, Coach Gregory is doing an outstanding job in coaching and recruiting. GO JACKETS !!!!!!!!!!!
Jack It
December 5th, 2012
12:12 pm
2 great quotes from pre & post game radio, I believe it was Wes that said these:
Pre – “UGA is a good shooting team that isn’t shooting very well.” Huh?? Let’s just call a spade a spade. UGA is just not a good team.
Post – “If it was an art museum we would have closed it at halftime.” Yep, it was not pretty to watch.
The shine wore off of Fox pretty quickly. This could be a historically bad year for the Dogs.
Jackets are young and we have only 1 kid, Mfon, that can play point. He was struggling with the ankle all night so his performance was pretty gutsy. But at least we have some talent that can get better.
Anybody out there know if Poole is a PG? I guess I could look it up.
5150 UOAD
December 5th, 2012
12:14 pm
That is a BEAUTIFUL new building. What kid from the area wouldn’t want to play in McCamish.
Oxymoron: UGA Basketball
December 5th, 2012
12:17 pm
What rally? UGA looks like it has for the last 3 years – pathetic
5150 UOAD
December 5th, 2012
12:30 pm
Has Anybody seen HEWITT FAN?
I bet he changed his blog name!
Jack It
December 5th, 2012
12:37 pm
B’Ham Jacket, with every post you make you solidify yourself as the dumbest GT fan out there. Good thing you live in Bama where you still might come across as intelligent.
steakshapirobacktobronx
December 5th, 2012
12:58 pm
wahwahwhawwhawwhawwhaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwahwahwahwahwahwhawwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwhahwhawhawhah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tech Troll 13
December 5th, 2012
1:14 pm
Fox is a good coach, but has not been able to bring in enough talent. UGA BB is a hard sell, similar to our football.
CBG has our guys playing hard especially on defense. His message must be clear because even the freshmen are playing tough d, which usually doesn’t happen. As for Royal, it looks to me like he hasn’t earned the minutes, to much talent on our bench. In the few minutes he plays, he takes bad shots.
JM
December 5th, 2012
2:10 pm
Congratulations to the Jackets.
I hope Mfon did not further injure his ankle.
Veteran Fan
December 5th, 2012
2:53 pm
What you all do not get is that Tech plays defense like nothing seen in college ball in a while! Every team looks bad against them! They have an awesome front line that is relentless in pursuing rebounds and loose balls! Last night we had two 6′10 and one 6′6 guy on the floor scrambling for a loose ball! No one does that any more! If we continue to play this way and Miller and Udofia stay healthy we can beat anyone with the exception of Indiana and Duke! Heck we lost to an undefeated Illinois squad in their building when they shot 47% from the three point line and we were leading with 6 minutes to play! No, we will not have a losing record this year and we will be battling hard for a 4-7 seed in the ACC tournament! Possible NCAA bid if the ACC is as strong as it looks early. What will help us is the SEC being so weak this year. They may only get two NCAA slots and maybe only one. Kentucky is struggling and Florida looks like the only strong team in the conference! Uga may have a decent year once they get to conference and may battle Vandy for third in the eastern division! Forgot about Missouri, so it may be for fourth. There is nothing in the western side of the conference! ACC could possibly send 8-10 to the tournament as strong as it is this year. Duke, NC, NC State, Miami, Maryland, Va Tech, Virginia, Clemson, Tech and FSU are all contenders! Only Wake and BC are down and they will be tough at home! Just wait until next year, when Pitt, Syracuse, Louisville, and ND come on board! The ACC could have 10 teams in the top twenty! Really exciting times down on the Flats!
To Jacket Steve
December 5th, 2012
3:04 pm
From ALL UGA Fans:
We’re OK with you beating us in basketball. You are a basketball school (or used to be). Our AD obviously doesn’t care about basketball, so why should we?
We are satisfied with beating/crushing/humiliating your “perfect” option every year in football, just like Middle Tennessee did. You can “own” this State in basketball, because we are in the SEC, a football conference, that plays decent basketball and won a National Championship in that last year too. You are in the ACC, pretty good basketball and horrendous football.
Iluvnutella
December 5th, 2012
3:05 pm
All’s right in Ga sports. The dwaggs fancy themselves an ELEET team in football, and we keep spankin their lil dawggie behinds in Basketball and Baseball. Go Jackets!
john, ducktown
December 5th, 2012
3:43 pm
Hey Superior, your comment was great:
“It’s so nice beating those losers. Not only are we superior in life, but sports, too. go get an sec group hug to make you feel better. Losers. I’ve never seen a fan base so exciting about finishing 2nd in the SEC. This is why y’all are worthless at life too.”
You sound like every other disgruntled Tech fan I know that never went to Tech. . . . and if you are lucky even went to college. Hanging out at the Varsity or going to a Tech Football game doesn’t make you a Tech Grad. You just like to associate yourself with Tech because you think it makes you “smarter”. You aren’t any smarter than the sidewalk georgia fans at football games.
What’s the next putdown? All UGA grads work for Tech Grads? Never heard that one. And if all UGA grads work for Tech Grads, where’s that leave you? Not the owner of a company and unemployed.
I understand the Tech folks that are happy to beat UGA. It’s always nice when UGA beats Tech, but don’t get overly excited about a 9-point win vs. UGA who has the 2nd worst winning % in the history of the SEC. Unless I’m missing something, UGA BB is going nowhere (as evidence in a loss to Tech). If Tech was going “somewhere”, they would have won by 20-35 points.
1980 was so long ago
December 5th, 2012
3:47 pm
“”"”Just the truth…hey jerk…how many times has UGA beaten you in the college playoffs? I guess you forgot about that. And when was the last time Ga Tech won a national championship in ANY sport?”"”"
Football 1990 (and women’s tennis 2007)
1980 was so long ago
marietta jacket
December 5th, 2012
4:04 pm
Ken, when are we going to get some information about the GT coaching vacancy?
List Mama » Tech scoots past Georgia 62-54 – Savannah Morning News
December 5th, 2012
4:05 pm
[...] during the second half Tuesday night in Atlanta. Georgia Tech won 62-54. Georges-Hunt scored …Tech withstands UGA rallyAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Tech basketball dominates U(sic)GA in historic nightFrom The [...]
ProudTechFan
December 5th, 2012
5:07 pm
I see a huge difference in the basketball team this year compared to last. I still think we are a year away from being considered one of the top tier ACC teams. CBG has his freshman playing quality minutes and a decent bench with players like Holsey (a former starter) coming in and providing toughness, and leadership on the floor. Udofia looks like a completely different player compared to two years ago. Georges Hunt I think is a player that can get hot enough to carry a team through tough offensive stretches I’ve seen from time to time. But I love Miller down low, got to find a way to get him the ball in the post more. And even though we lost againt Illinois, I was more impressed with the effort. We played them on their home floor and they got extremely hot in the last five minutes to pull away. No shame in losing to a team like that and in that matter.
I hope we continue to improve .
GO JACKETS!!!
5150 UOAD
December 5th, 2012
5:25 pm
GT B-Ball is way away from being ACC good but CBG is trying and making kids put ALL IN to the game.
georgedawg
December 5th, 2012
7:52 pm
I still like Fox. Disappoimting start but look for them to get better //- not good, okay. Young team and starting to get decent recruits in state. If I had as many challenges as tech does, I’d worry about my team not Georgia’s. Good luck in the ACC and we look forward to rubbing your faces in it next November again. Really a cake walk a few weeks ago.
Pitbull
December 5th, 2012
9:05 pm
Girls play basketball.