Thanks to a huge performance from Jordan Usher and a stifling team defensive effort, Georgia Tech pulled off a huge upset over Florida State by a 75-61 score Wednesday night in Atlanta.
Usher stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead the Yellow Jackets to a win in a rematch of last season’s ACC Championship Game.
Georgia Tech (9-10, 2-6 ACC) entered the contest dead last in the conference and Florida State (13-6, 6-3) was tied atop the league, but the Yellow Jackets showed some flashes from last season’s team.
Michael Devoe and Dallan Coleman scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, but the story of the game really was on the other end of the court. Georgia Tech forced 17 turnovers, using a zone defense to clamp down on the Seminoles. In particular, Florida State struggled with its outside shooting, hitting just seven 3-pointers all night.
Most of Florida State’s offense came through Anthony Polite, who scored 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting. Naheem McLeod also chipped in with 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting.
The home team took control of a back-and-forth first half with a spurt just before the intermission. Georgia Tech went on an 18-2 run that turned a 28-26 deficit into a 44-30 lead, holding the Seminoles to just one made field goal in a five-minute stretch.
Florida State chipped away at the deficit throughout the second half, eventually trimming Georgia Tech’s lead as low as four points at 57-53 with 8:02 remaining. But just as it did late in the first half, Georgia Tech used a big run late in the second half to salt away the win.
Georgia Tech hit six of its final seven shots from the floor, while Florida State missed seven of its final eight shots, including going the final 5:05 without a made field goal.
Georgia Tech ended the game on a 14-5 run during that span.
–Field Level Media
