Georgia Tech 71 Duke 67 - SCACCHoops.com

Georgia Tech 71 Duke 67

by WebMaster

Posted: 1/9/2010 5:14:36 PM


Game Central

Game Recap

Enhanced Box Score

Georgia Tech has had a bad week that featured a loss in the Orange Bowl in football and a loss to in-state rival Georgia in basketball.  On Saturday all is well with the world again after a win at home against Duke.  Take a look at the Box Score and you'll see Gani Lawal and the Georgia Tech defense won this one.  Lawal finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds while the Yellow Jacket defense held Duke to 6-28 shooting from behind the arc. 

While the Blue Devils led at half 35-29, they were 2-12 from behind the arc.  The difference was rebounding where Duke was grabbing nearly half of their own misses and 80% of Georgia Tech's.  Georgia Tech evened out those rebounding numbers in the second half and gained an edge in each.  Derrick Favors was a big reason for that, getting all 7 of his points in the 2nd half.  While Favors stepped it up in the 2nd half, Lawal was an impact player from start to finish.  The Blue Devils neither had an answer to Lawal's tenacity on the boards nor his touch on the block.

For Duke, the trio of Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith has carried them all year long, but only Scheyer reached double-figures with 25 points.  Singler and Smith each scored 9 and Singler in particular struggled shooting 2-13 from the floor.  The Georgia Tech defense played physically with the Duke perimeter players and used superior athleticism to make the Duke trio work for open shots.

The game showed the fickle nature of the ACC this season.  Earlier in the week, several media outlets crowned Duke the king of the ACC by a wide margin.  While that is likely still true, it shows how difficult it is to win on the road in the ACC.  Is Duke overrated?  As much as it hurts some fans to hear this, Duke is NOT overrated.  For Georgia Tech, earlier in the week a loss to Georgia had fans calling for the end of Paul Hewitt.  Just a few days later, the Yellow Jackets are walking away with a marquee win for their NCAA resume.

Duke falls to 1-1 in conference play and will take on BC on Wednesday night while Georgia Tech moves to 1-0 and will take on UVA on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 


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