Marcus Georges-Hunt leads Georgia Tech over Rhode Island

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets had a “too close to comfort” win over Rider in their last trip to the hardwood, and on Sunday evening, Brian Gregory’s club wrapped up their Orlando Classic run with a match-up against Rhode Island. The result was equally positive with regard to the final score, and Marcus Georges-Hunt was the key in leading the Jackets to a 64-61 victory to improve to 5-1 on the year.

Much of the early going was on the ugly side for the Yellow Jackets on both ends. It was unpleasant to the point where Georgia Tech actually trailed 18-15 with 6:29 remaining in the half, and the offense was in significant peril.

Fortunately, the team from Atlanta broke out of that slump with a 14-0 run to close the half in style, and Georges-Hunt was in the midst of it all. The defense was certainly important in holding down the Rams (33% from the field and 13 turnovers in the first half), but Georges-Hunt scored 12 points and snatched 3 steals in the period, and that was enormous.

Georgia Tech never trailed in the second half, but that did not indicate that there was no danger. Rhode Island closed within three points at 48-45 with less than six minutes to play, but Georges-Hunt (again) responded with four straight points, and that was the end of that. The Rams closed to as few as two points in the final minute of the game, but the lead was fairly safe given that it took back-to-back threes (the second of which came with three seconds remaining) to close within that margin before reaching the final of 64-61.

Marcus Georges-Hunt finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals in the game, and the junior from College Park was one of only two Yellow Jackets in double-figures. It was very nice to see “MGH” take control of the festivities, especially given his status as the team’s best returning player from 2013-2014, and this was likely his best performance of the year. Demarco Cox (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Quinton Stephens (7 points, 5 rebounds) were solid in their own right, but this night belonged to Georges-Hunt.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will return to the floor on Wednesday night, as they travel to Evanston, Illinois to face off with the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2014 edition of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Stay tuned.