Looking to rebound from its first loss, Georgia Tech hosts high-scoring Georgia Southern on Tuesday in an intrastate nonconference meeting in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech (3-1) saw its best offensive performance overshadowed in a 92-87 setback at rival Georgia on Friday. The Yellow Jackets led by eight with 14 minutes left but allowed 40 points over the final 13:34 of the loss.
There were plenty of positives for Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire to take away, as the Yellow Jackets shot 45.5% (10-for-22) on 3-pointers and had five double-digit scorers.
“The big thing for me is that I know we’re going to get better,” Stoudamire said. “I know we’re not a finished product. This team is going to be better. We’ve got a lot of areas of improvement. I thought we did a lot of good things offensively, but we’ve got to keep getting better on that end of the floor.”
Miami (Ohio) transfer Kam Craft had his best game in a Yellow Jackets uniform, drilling five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points. Sophomore Jaeden Mustaf scored 15 points in the loss, and while Stoudamire is glad to see the improved offense, now it’s about maintaining the success.
“Both of those guys scored the ball well, but the biggest thing now is just the consistency of it,” Stoudamire said. “That’s what I want to see from the individuals and the team. We’re able to get back home and play on Tuesday. We’ve got a big couple weeks coming up.”
Lamar Washington leads Georgia Tech with 14.5 points per game in two appearances off the bench, followed by Kowacie Reeves Jr.’s 13.5 and freshman Mouhamed Sylla’s 11.8 ppg and 11 rebounds per game.
After dropping its first game 92-89 at East Carolina, Georgia Southern (3-1) has averaged 95.3 points across its last three victories. The Eagles bring an explosive offense into consecutive games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, as they face Florida State in Tallahassee on Friday.
Under third-year head coach Charlie Henry, Georgia Southern has shot 50.2% from the field and 39.6% from long-range through four games.
“We’ve added a ton of shooting,” Henry said. “It’s the most shooting I’ve had here, but we’ve got to take care of the ball. Before you win, you’ve got to eliminate the ways in which you beat yourself.”
Spudd Webb’s 19.5 ppg lead the Eagles, while Nakavieon White adds 14.5 and Alden Applewhite scores 14 ppg.
