Inside-outside game lifts Georgia Tech

ATLANTA -- Led by the outside shooting of Adam Smith and the inside presence of Charles Mitchell, Georgia Tech rolled to a 76-60 win over Colgate on Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion.

Smith scored a season-high 20 points and Mitchell scored 18 points, as the Yellow Jackets shot 56 percent from the floor (33-for-59) and won their second straight game. It was their second-best shooting game of the season; they shot 60 percent in the opener against Cornell.

Georgia Tech dominated the glass, outrebounding the Raiders 34-21, which led to 16 second-chance points.

Georgia Tech improved to 9-3, the same record it held last year before losing seven straight games.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Adam Smith: The guard had his best shooting night of the season. Smith was 8-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-5 on 3-pointers, to score 20 points. It was his most since transferring from Virginia Tech, where his career high was 28. Smith added two rebounds and one assist.

Charles Mitchell: After a couple of subpar shooting efforts, Mitchell was strong under the basket against Colgate. He shot 8-for-10 from the field to score 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while also blocking a shot.

Josh Heath: The underrated point guard scored only two points (he made the only shot he took) but distributed the ball well and picked up four assists. Heath added two rebounds and a steal. He did not have a turnover.

TURNING POINT

After blowing an 11-2 lead to start the game, the Yellow Jackets used some good shooting and stellar defense to go on a 10-0 run in the first half and take control. Mitchell and Smith each scored four points during that stretch. Georgia Tech held Colgate without a point for nearly five minutes to help give the Yellow Jackets some breathing room.

OBSERVATIONS

White starts again: James White got his second straight start at forward. He was joined in the lineup by guard Marcus Georges-Hunt, point guard Josh Heath, forward Mitchell and guard Smith, the same quartet that has started each game.

Jorgenson dishes it out: The sophomore point guard is beginning to look healthier after suffering with a bad ankle the last couple of weeks. He had a season-high six assists and scored seven points in 20 minutes.

Marcus missing from floor: Senior Marcus Georges-Hunt has made fewer than half his field goal tries for three straight games. He was 3-for-8 on Wednesday and scored seven points. Over the last three games, Georges-Hunt is shooting 8-for-23.

THEY SAID IT

Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory on the fast start: “We challenged the guys at the start to have the right mental approach and energy level and they did a good job.”

Gregory on backup point guard Travis Jorgenson: “That was Travis’s best game since he’s been hurt. He looked like he had the pace back to his game.”

Gregory on the team’s progress: “It’s good to be heading in the break and be 9-3 and knowing we can still get better.”

Guard Adam Smith on adjusting to Colgate’s slower pace: “They wanted to slow it down. We ran when we could. You’ve still got to play.”

Charles Mitchell on the good start in the second half: “We came out in the first four minutes of the second half and buckled down on defense.”

UP NEXT

Georgia Tech plays again on Dec. 29 against Duquesne (10-2).

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Inside-outside game lifts Georgia Tech ."