In a series notable for offering an overwhelming home court advantage, Mark Fox’s Bulldogs went on the road and claimed a 73-72 victory over in-state rival Georgia Tech in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. In many respects, the game was as even as the score indicated.
Both teams shot 44.3 per cent from the field, with each squad sinking 27 of 61 two-point shots. Georgia and Georgia Tech garnered ten fouls apiece, and the Yellow Jacket bench contributed 18 points, just four more than the Bulldog reserves added to the tally.
In other facets, though, the game was a mismatch. The Engineers dominated the boards, pulling down 43 rebounds to the Red and Black’s 30, and the home team hit ten of twelve free throws (83.3%) while the visitors struggled to go seven of 15 from the charity stripe (46.7%).
The Bulldogs benefited from twelve-of-22 shooting from beyond the arc (54.5%) as the Golden Tornado managed to get just eight of their 20 three-point tries to drop (40.0%). Perhaps most significantly, Georgia Tech turned the ball over twice as frequently as Georgia (14-7), and the Red and Black turned those steals into 15 points, more than offsetting the ten ticks put on the scoreboard by the Ramblin’ Wreck off of takeaways.
Despite their slow start, the Hoop Dogs overcame a 35-29 halftime deficit and stormed back to score 44 points in the second half, led by Trey Thompkins’s and Dustin Ware’s respective 21-point performances. Thompkins hit four of five free throws, while Ware went seven of nine both from two-point range and from three-point range.
Ware’s symmetrical shooting performance was a nice touch, as it allowed the fans of the home team to drown their sorrows with mental pictures of Jeri Ryan while the Red and Black faithful did what Bulldog fans do; namely, celebrate yet another victory over Georgia Tech in yet another sport.
Go ‘Dawgs!