CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Gani Lawal scored just two points in Georgia Tech's last game amid questions of if there are enough shots to go around with freshman star Derrick Favors joining him in the frontcourt.
Lawal returned with a flourish on Saturday night and the Yellow Jackets needed him to avoid an embarrassing collapse in their turnaround season.
Lawal had 29 points and 10 rebounds, dominating at the foul line and coming up with a crucial block in the final minute as Georgia Tech recovered from blowing a 15-point second-half lead to beat Charlotte 76-67.
``Obviously I want to score more but I wasn't down,'' said Lawal, who was held to one field goal Tuesday against Winston-Salem State and scored just four points in a loss to Florida State. ``I just came back to the drawing board and worked hard these two days in practice and bounced back. Just being real mature and professional about it.''
With Derrio Green burying seven 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 31 points, Charlotte (10-3) seemed poised to pull off a stunner when DiJuan Harris' 3 put the 49ers ahead 66-65 with 2:38 left. But D'Andre Bell answered with a 3-pointer that bounced around the rim before falling and Lawal then hit two free throws. Up 70-66, Lawal rejected Chris Braswell in the lane and later put it away at the line.
Lawal, who flirted with turning pro at the end of last season, entered as a career 56 percent free-throw shooter. But he hit 17 of 20 from the line and helped contain Charlotte big man Shamari Spears.
Iman Shumpert added nine points in his first game back from knee surgery and Georgia Tech (11-2) won its third straight to move within one victory of last season's total.
``This is a quality win for our guys,'' Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt said.
It was a heartbreaker for Green and the 49ers, who trailed by 12 with 8 minutes left before a 17-4 run put them ahead.
``We circled the wagons and made a run and had a legitimate chance to win the game against the second-best team we've played all year,'' Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said, referring to Duke as the best squad. ``That gives me hope for what's ahead.''
In a game both teams shot under 38 percent from the field, Georgia Tech appeared in control up 15 early in the second half and 61-49 with 8 minutes left before Green's scoring burst. He hit a 3-pointer while Brian Oliver fouled Phil Jones while he was setting a screen. Jones missed the front end of the 1-and-1, but Charlotte got the rebound and Green buried another 3.
``They were just giving me open shots,'' said Green, a junior college transfer who had his third game of 20 or more points this season.
But Bell's friendly bounce on his 3 from the left wing with 2:20 left put Georgia Tech ahead to stay.
``I held my follow through,'' said Bell, who added 11 points. ``Shooter's role.''
Charlotte couldn't recover in a rare on-campus home game against a school from a major conference. Even with Favors held to six points and seven rebounds amid foul trouble, the 49ers struggled inside.
Entering averaging 17.8 points, Spears didn't get his first field goal until early in the second half and was held to eight points and four rebounds.
Georgia Tech's depth was given a boost from Shumpert, who had missed the past six games following surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his right knee.
He didn't start but entered before the first timeout and quickly had a putback that started Georgia Tech's 17-2 run to take a 19-8 lead.
Shumpert hit 4 of 9 shots and added three rebounds while playing 27 minutes, about 15 more than Hewitt had planned going in.
``Guilty,'' Hewitt said, smiling. ``We left it up to him and he said he felt good.''
The depth proved too much for Charlotte to overcame despite committing only four of their 16 turnovers in the second half. The 49ers, 11-20 last season, get another chance against a big-name opponent Wednesday when they visit No. 14 Tennessee.
``It shows what we can do,'' Green said. ``We've just got to sustain that for 40 minutes and not wait until the end.''
Friday
November 29th, 2024
1:50PM
