Jackets fall short at #8 Kentucky
LEXINGTON, KY- Georgia Tech came into face #8 Kentucky shorthanded with starting point guard Jose Alvarado out with an ankle sprain and Jordan Usher not quite eligible thanks to the Jackets’ academic arm and final exams schedule. Despite these struggles and rough nights from top big man James Banks and high-scoring guard Michael Devoe who combined for 11 points, the plucky Tech squad managed to give a big scare to Big Blue. Tech lost 67-53 to fall to 4-4 on the season while the WIldcards moved to 8-1.
Hanging around is key on the road and every time it looked like the Wildcats were ready to put away the Jackets, the plucky squad responded with some key transition threes or fast-break baskets. The stretch where Kentucky finally put their boot on the Jackets came in the middle of the second half when the Jackets went on a 1-for-12 shooting streak and Kentucky took a ten-point lead. Michael Devoe struggled missing three shots from the arc during that stretch that would’ve kept things close. Pastner’s half-court offense was also pretty stagnant with Tech going three different possessions without getting off a shot either due to the shot clock or turnovers.
“It was 44-41 and we left 11 points on the board,” Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said after the game. “That is just the game. Michael Devoe who has been great for us all season and one of the leading three-point shooters in the country had two open threes and missed both. Khalid Moore had one that went in and out. It literally went down and out. Then Asanti Price had a layup he missed so that is 11 points. When you are playing a really good team on the road and you are missing two of your better players with Jose Alvarado and Jordan Usher, you don’t have any margin of error in those situations when you get those types of looks.”
The Jackets hit just 5 of their 18 three-point shots in the game after hitting four of seven in the first half. Moses Wright led all Tech scorers with 13 points, he also had 10 rebounds but had four turnovers and zero assists. Khalid Moore faired better with 10 points and three assists with just two turnovers, but he was 1-for-3 from the arc. Moore said the offense worked as designed, they just couldn’t knock down the shots.
“I feel like we executed our offense pretty well and got the open shots we were looking for, but we just have to hit them,” Khalid Moore said. “They just didn’t fall for us tonight.”
On the flip side, Ashton Hagans led all scorers with 21 points hitting eight of his 10 shots and was two for three from the arc. Hagans did have six turnovers on seven assists.
“Ashton Hagans has gotten better and better and he is really good. From where he was as a junior and senior in high school when we recruited him to where he is, he has gotten better and better,” Pastner said. “Credit coach Calipari and his staff in their development of him.”
The Jackets trailed by six at the half 36-30 despite a slow start that saw Kentucky jump out early. Threes from Moses Wright, Evan Cole and Bubba Parham evened things up and then gave Tech a lead. Kentucky went on a run to end the half to take the lead. Ashton Hagans led all scorers with 11 at the break. Bubba Parham led Tech with 8 points including a pair of threes.
Free throw shooting continues to be an issue for the Jackets. Entry passes remain an issue for the Jackets as well. They had trouble feeding the ball to either James Banks or Moses Wright in the post. Banks ended up with six points and two rebounds before fouling out.
“The better James will be will come when our guards are better at helping James,” Pastner said. “He has gotten better from where he started. He struggled some last week and he got in foul trouble with three blocked shots tonight. I thought a couple of times on his fouls he tried to make a couple of home-run plays which put him in a position to get a silly foul. For us to have success, we need James to be really good.”
UP NEXT
The Jackets are back in action on Wednesday with Ball State in the on-campus opener of the Diamond Head Classic. After that Tech will head to Honolulu for the balance of December before returning home to start ACC play on the road against FSU on New Year’s Eve.