In a board game, the Georgia Tech basketball team made all the right moves in the final 4 1/2 minutes for a 73-68 victory over Hawaii in Friday’s second semifinal of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
Led by 6-foot-9 forward Baye Ndongo, the Yellow Jackets constructed a 46-28 rebounding advantage, including 15-7 on the offensive boards. That led to 19 second-chance points and factored in 46 paint points.
“We did a good job, I thought, getting back on the glass,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said. “We didn’t do that (Thursday). We were able to present Hawaii with some challenges. Our guys responded to the physicality of what we wanted to do today as opposed to (Thursday) night.”
The Yellow Jackets also were able to answer the Rainbow Warriors’ frenetic surge in the second half. Down 43-27 at the intermission against lengthy defenders at every position, UH coach Eran Ganot implored his guards to attack at both ends.
The ’Bows scored 19 unanswered points over a stretch of 7 minutes, 54 seconds to chop a 21-point deficit to 52-50 on forward Harry Rouhliadeff’s 3 from the left corner with 9:03 to play. The Yellow Jackets were 0-for-11 during that stretch.
“We challenged our guys to push the ball,” Ganot said. “It was hard to get a push when we weren’t getting many stops. We still have to push on makes. Playing on our heels instead of playing with force was the difference in the two halves.”
With 4:35 to play, UH center Bernardo da Silva was fouled. His two free throws put the ’Bows ahead 59-58. Their only lead of the game lasted 14 seconds. Ndongo’s putback of Naithan George’s missed layup helped Georgia Tech regain the lead at 60-59. On the Yellow Jackets’ next possession, Ndongo scored on a spin move.
Another Ndongo layup made it 67-63 with 1:57 to play.
With 10.6 seconds to go, UH point guard JoVon McClanahan was fouled by making a layup that cut the margin to 71-68. But McClanahan missed the free throw. Miles Kelly was fouled, and his two free throws ended the scoring.
“We just wanted the game,” said Ndongo, who finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, half of which came off the offensive glass. “I guess we wanted it more than them. We stuck with the game plan. I know the work we’ve been putting in during practice. We stuck on it, and it showed.”
Stoudamire said: “Baye did a great job for us inside. I thought we controlled the boards. He did a lot for us in there. We were able to get to the rim. We were able to get to the free-throw line. Overall, proud of the way we played for 40 minutes.”
Ahead of the tip-off, associate head coach John Montgomery wrote a reminder on the board in the ’Bows’ locker room: “Best offensive rebounding team we’ll see all year.”
It proved to be prophetic, with the Yellow Jackets following their shots with sprints to the low post. “They made us pay,” Montgomery said. “They got big opportunities, with offensive rebounds (leading to) easy baskets.”
Of the second-half rally, Montgomery said, “we fought so hard to get back. We got up by one. … We couldn’t finish it out. Proud of our effort. I’m glad we made it a game.”
Stoudamire said: “The thing about us is we’ve been in these situations. We won our share of games, but they haven’t been blowouts. … Our guys are really poised and did a great job down the stretch. We’ve been preparing for these moments.”
Although attendance was announced at only 3,139, Stoudamire said, “we understand how hard it is to play Hawaii in their building. I know the significance of being able to get a win like this.”
Georgia Tech and Nevada will play in Sunday’s championship game beginning at 4 p.m. UH meets TCU at 1:30 p.m. that day.
Lucas helps Nevada top TCU to advance to Diamond Head Classic championship
Jarod Lucas scored 25 points, Kenan Blackshear added 14 points and Nevada beat TCU 88-75 on Friday in a Diamond Head Classic semifinal matchup between two programs coming off NCAA Tournament appearances.
Nevada (11-1) advances to the championship game on Sunday.
TCU (9-2) played the entire second half without coach Jamie Dixon, who was ejected with 4:04 left before halftime after getting whistled for his second technical foul. Jarod Lucas converted the two free throws for a 41-31 lead and missed a 3-pointer about 10 seconds later.
The Wolf Pack led 48-36 at halftime. Blackshear scored the first three points of the second half and Nevada led by at least nine points the rest of the way.
TCU got within 67-58 with 9:40 remaining following a 10-1 run, but Tylan Pope ended Nevada’s field-goal drought with a three-point play and Lucas added two free throws on their next possession for a 14-point lead. Lucas converted a three-point play at 3:53 to make it 81-66.
Nick Davidson, coming off a career-high 19 points against Temple in a tournament opener, had 14 points for Nevada.
ODU beats Temple with coach recovering
Vasean Allette had 24 points in Old Dominion’s 78-63 victory over Temple in a Diamond Head Classic consolation game and will play in the fifth-place game on Sunday.
Allette also contributed eight rebounds for the Monarchs (4-7). Chaunce Jenkins scored 17 points and added seven rebounds and five assists. Tyrone Williams was 5-for-11 shooting (1-for-4 from 3-point range) to finish with 11 points.
Hysier Miller finished with 20 points and five assists for the Owls (6-6). Sam Hofman added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Shane Dezonie had 11 points.
Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones was hospitalized in Honolulu after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday, the school said. “He is resting comfortably and expecting a full recovery,” Old Dominion said in a statement Thursday.
Cohen enjoys perfect evening for UMass
Josh Cohen hit all nine of his field-goal attempts and all nine of his free-throw attempts and scored 28 points while
playing 29 minutes to lead UMass to a 100-78 victory over Portland in Friday night’s late game.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report
