Jackets sharpshooting leads them past Lamar 75-66

ATLANTA- Georgia Tech improved to 2-1 on the 2021-22 season with a 75-66 win over Lamar on Monday night in McCamish Pavilion. True freshman guard Deebo Coleman led the way for Tech with 19 points off the bench while Jordan Usher added 15 points and eight rebounds and Mike Devoe was held to 11 points but added eight rebounds and seven assists.

"If I had an open look, take it but I give a lot of credit to my teammates who found me when I was open," Coleman said. "We are still trying to find chemistry."

Seven of the nine players Tech used hit three-point baskets in the game. Tech hit 12 of their 25 attempts from three on Monday night.

"I think we are a good three-point shooting team. I was shellshocked in the first game against Miami (Ohio) on how we didn't shoot well in that game. I think we are a good shooting team when our feet are set and we have the right pickups and the right feet, we are a good shooting team," Pastner said. "That first game was hopefully an outlier we were 9-19 for Friday and 21 of 44 in the last two games."

Lamar got back into the game shooting 46.7-percent in the second half and hitting 13 of 15 free-throw attempts after getting to the line just four times in the first half. Jordyn Adams added 17 points with 12 coming in the second half for the Cardinals who managed to get it to a four-point game in the second half before Tech pulled away and they were down six with four minutes to go in the game as well.

“I was talking to Jordan Usher during shootaround and I told him I was really a fan of him and how hard he plays. We played against him when I was at Houston and we were in Hawaii and I want a guy like that with his athleticism. I knew when we got it to four we would need to get a stop or two to really make it a game. I’ve known Josh (Pastner) since he was in high school and they did what most veteran teams do when it is close and fought back.”

Usher had four turnovers and the Jackets turned the ball over 10 times.

"We were rushing some things. In a game where there is not a lot of energy in the crowd, you can't rush shots when the other team shoots within the first 10 seconds," Usher said. "We can't do that."

Pastner said he feels like the team has improved each game and handled various types of challenges as they get ready for the first big game of the season at Georgia on Friday.

"We've just got to keep getting better. I mean, it's a long season. Look we lost the ACC Player of the Year and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, meaning you lost two studs, not just hey, this is a guy here. I mean, these are two studs. So there's just going take time and time's got to be on our side for us to get better. Plus, you know we don't have Bubba (Parham) right now. So we just need to keep getting better and we could have some peaks and valleys along the way. But I think how we start doesn't mean we're going to win a bunch of games, but I think we're going to really hit on cylinders as we get towards ACC play. I really believe that. But I love this group. I really do. I'm excited about them. I love coming to practice because it's a new challenge and we just got to keep getting better and I think we've improved from the first game you saw us to where we are today."

HOW IT WENT DOWN

It was a slow start for both team in McCamish Pavilion as the Jackets scored only 4 points in the opening six minutes while holding Lamar to just 2 points. Tech went on a 13-0 run to take a 15-2 lead with 11:25 left in the first half. Georgia Tech extended the lead to 39-22 at the half. Deebo Coleman led all scorers with 14 points on four-of-four from the three point line in the first half. Rodney Howard had eight points and six rebounds plus a block and Mike Devoe had just four points, but three rebounds and three assists. Tech held the Cardinals to just 33.3-percent shooting in the first half and they hit just two of nine from three.

Out of the half the Jackets started off slow allowing Lamar to chip away at the lead making it 44-33 with 14:34 to go. Lamar got it to 9, 44-35 after the media timeout. A three made it a six-point game before Devoe answered with a three of his own to make it 47-38. Kyle Sturdivant hit a three to give Tech a 12-point lead. Lamar stormed back to make it 55-47 with under eight minutes to go during a scoring draught for the Jackets. Lamar cut it to 4, with a free throw with six minutes to go, but Deivon Smith answered with a three and Miles Kelly added another three to make it 64-54. Jordan Usher had two key baskets late to make it 68-59 with under three minutes to go. Deivon Smith had a late steal and dunk to make it 74-61 with 36.1 left. From there Lamar got the lead down to nine, but could not get over the hump missing several threes late.

Georgia Tech travels to Georgia for a 9 pm tipoff on the SEC Network. The Jackets have lost five in a row to the Bulldogs.