ATLANTA (Nov. 16) ? In a game between two downtown Atlanta schools, a hot Georgia Tech squad ranked No. 21 in the nation defeated Georgia State 103-74 before 9,191 Thursday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Senior forward Lance Perique led the Panthers offensively with 22 points and hit 10-of-10 free throws attempted. Sophomore forward Rashad Chase finished with 18 points and matched Perique's free throws with 10 of his own. Chase, a small forward who was playing out of position at center due to an injury and an academically ineligible player, grabbed eight rebounds in the contest.
Junior transfer Ryan McBride showed his three-point prowess by connecting on 2-of-4 attempts from behind the arc and scored eight points. The 6'6'' wing pulled down five rebounds in the loss. Two other Panthers ? guards Ron Larris and Leonard Mendez ? snagged five rebounds apiece and each scored five. Larris led the Panthers with six assists. McBride scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds in the contest and senior guard Brandon Cartwright recorded six points.
The host Jackets hit an outsanding 54 percent from behind the three-point line with 13-of-24 made and shot 56 percent as a team for the game with 41-of-73 made. Lewis Clinch's 8-of-9 shooting led the Jackets with 20 points, one more than Thaddeus Young and two more than Javaris Crittendon. Georgia Tech held a slight 35-33 rebound advantage for the game. Georgia State shot 43 percent for the game but just 4-of-14 outside the arc (28.6 percent).
When Coach Perry was asked that since the last team to beat State by 30 points (George Mason in December) went to the Final Four last year, how good was Tech tonight? “Well, they did look pretty special tonight, didn't they? After seeing them on film and seeing them tonight, they looked better than their last Final Four team.”
Perry continued: “Coach Hewitt told me last spring that Crittendon was going to make him a better coach so he knew what was coming. They make some plays that are almost indefensible when a 6-5 and 6-9 guy are knocking down three-pointers. Tonight, it was Crittendon's three-point baskets that broke the game open.”
“It is kind of the lesser of evils to make them shoot three's and they certainly made them tonight. And, if they get in transition, they are very, very good. And, we had too many turnovers tonight (20) to help them.”
The game started with Georgia State opening a 2-0 lead and then 5-2 and 8-5 margins over the first four minutes. But then, host Georgia Tech used a full-court defense and a radar-accurate outside shooting game to go on a 19-0 run in a four-minute span in which it made four three-point baskets to open a commanding 24-8 lead at 12:08.
When State closed to 28-15 at 9:32, Tech had another 13-5 run to get the lead to 21 points at 41-20. When a three-point basket by McBride brought it back to 19 points at 46-27, Tech answered with yet another run to build a halftime lead of 58-30.
In that first half, Tech shot 61 percent with 8-of-13 outside the arc. Georgia State shot 40 percent on 10-25. The tough part for State was its 15 turnovers to cost themselves possessions and chances to score.
In the second half, Tech outscored State 45-44. All 12 players dressed out tonight for the Panthers and 11 of them scored, including walk-ons Michael Moynihan (Lefty Driesell's grandson) and Ousman Krubally. Ten of those 12 grabbed a rebound. Starting center Deven Dickerson (6-9, 260) did not dress (asthma) and 6-8, 235-pound forward Justin Billingslea won't become eligible until December.
Georgia State (0-2) will return to action with home games Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. vs. Winston-Salem State and then Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Alabama State at the Sports Arena.
