Kowacie Reeves matched his season high with 18 points to help Georgia Tech outlast a stubborn West Georgia team 82-66 on Sunday in Atlanta.
Reeves shot 7 for 11 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and scored in double figures for the fifth time in six games as the Yellow Jackets roared back from a one-point halftime deficit.
Georgia Tech (5-1) also got 14 points, 14 rebounds and five assists from Baye Ndongo, who picked up his second straight double-double. Cam Craft, who scored only four points against Georgia Southern on Tuesday, bounced back to score 15 — nine in the second half. Freshman Mouhamed Sylla had 13 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double.
West Georgia (4-3) was led by Shelton Williams-Dryden, a preseason all-ASUN selection with 21 points and nine rebounds. Josh Smith added 13 points and Malcolm Noel came off the bench to score 13
The game was close until the Yellow Jackets used 10-3 run to break a 38-38 tie and take a seven-point lead at 15:20, only to have West Georgia use an 8-1 run to tie the game at 49-49 with 12:27 remaining.
The Yellow Jackets responded with a 10-1 run and took a game-high nine-point lead on a layup by Peyton Marshall with 10:19 to make it 59-50. West Georgia never got closer than five points the rest of the game.
West Georgia outhustled Georgia Tech in the first half and enjoyed a 34-33 lead at the half. The difference was from the perimeter, where West Georgia made six 3-pointers in the first half, which offset Tech’s 20-4 advantage in the paint.
Georgia Tech used a late 6-0 run — with all the points coming in the paint — to take a four-point lead, only to have West Georgia close with five unanswered points, the last a 3-pointer by Noel to grab the halftime lead.
Georgia Tech plays again on Friday against DePaul in the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Fla. West Georgia’s next game is Dec. 1 at Troy.
