The men’s basketball team traveled to Raleigh, N.C. on Wednesday night where they lost to the N.C. State Wolfpack 83-70. The Jackets dropped to 0-2 in conference play and 10-4 overall after losing two straight games.
Tech got off to a fast start in the first half, lead by freshman forward Robert Carter Jr. and junior center Daniel Miller. After a lay up by junior forward Kammeon Holsey, Tech took a seven point lead at the 13:14 mark in the first half. It was back-and-forth for most of the first half when freshman guard Chris Bolden hit a three pointer just before the half ended to give Tech a one-point lead going into halftime.
After a slow second half start for the Jackets, Tech regained the lead at the 13:21 mark with another Holsey lay up, but it was all Wolfpack for the rest of the night. After the Wolfpack took the lead with 8:51 left, they never trailed again. Tech tied the game back up with 7:51 on a Bolden lay up, but N.C. State’s Scott Wood responded by drilling a three pointer on their next possession. Wood finished 4-9 from three point range on the night.
Tech’s had a hard time on the glass as they were out rebounded by the Wolfpack 43-37. As well as this, Tech shot 75 percent from the free throw line showing signs of improvement, but still work to be done. Tech shot poorly from behind the arc against the Wolfpack, converting on only four of their 18 attempts.
Miller finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and three assists leading the Jackets in all three categories. Senior point guard Mfon Udofia finished with 13 points and two assists. freshman guard Solomon Poole played six minutes, including some late minutes in the first half. It was the first time in his collegiate career that he logged minutes in the first half of a game. Solomon finished with two points, an assist, and a steal.
N.C. State guard and Georgia native Lorenzo Brown finished with 21 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds. Forward C.J. Leslie scored 19 points and added seven rebounds. Scott Wood finished with 20 points, well above his season average of 11 points per game.
“You have to give a ton of credit to Mark [Gottfried] and the job he’s done with that team. They had a lot of veterans coming back from last year’s team and the great run that they had when they were playing about as good as any team in the country,” said head coach Brian Gregory, courtesy of ramblinwreck.com. “Add a couple high quality freshmen to the mix and they’re a really tough team to beat. We knew how well we had to play and I thought we did a good job for about 32 minutes.”
Georgia Tech will host ACC rival Virginia Tech at home Saturday, Jan. 12 at 2:30 p.m. Both teams will be looking to pick up their first conference win of the season.