Kowacie Reeves Jr. poured in 12 points and knocked down a clutch, tiebreaking 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining in overtime to lift Georgia Tech to a thrilling 56-52 season-opening win over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Monday night in Atlanta.
Reeves’ shot gave the Yellow Jackets a 55-52 advantage. Mouhamed Sylla made a free throw with two seconds remaining to complete a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds.
UMES won only six games last season but nearly got the new year started on a high note thanks in part to Joseph Locandro, who scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and grabbed five boards. Justin Monden added 10 points.
Monden appeared to hit the game-winning jumper with 10 seconds left in regulation, but Georgia Tech’s Peyton Marshall was fouled after rebounding his own missed layup. He split those shots with one second on the clock and the game went to OT tied at 46-46.
Jaeden Mustaf gave Georgia Tech a 50-48 lead with 3:10 to play. Locandro tied the game at 52-52 with 51 seconds left before Reeves delivered his dagger shot from long range.
Down 21-18 at the half, UMES opened the second half on a 12-0 run, punctuated by Trey Brown’s 3-pointer with 14:13 remaining.
The Yellow Jackets ended the run on Sylla’s jumper, cutting the deficit to 30-23, but the Hawks stayed a few steps ahead and led 35-29 after a Locandro 3-pointer with 9:39 to go.
Two free throws by Marshall pulled Georgia Tech within 39-38 at the 5:26 mark before a 3-pointer from Mustaf with 4:55 left gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead since halftime.
Tied at 41-41, Mustaf knocked down two free throws for a 43-41 lead with 3:13 to go, but Levi Beckwith’s 3-pointer put the Hawks up 44-43 two minutes later.
In the first meeting between the two schools since the 1984-85 season, and only the third all-time, the first half was a struggle.
After opening the game on Jaden Cooper’s 3-pointer, the Hawks went more than five minutes without scoring, missing eight straight shots from the floor and trailing 7-3.
But the Yellow Jackets soon dealt with a cold spell of their own, going more than eight minutes without a point as UMES grabbed the lead back at 8-7 with 11:28 remaining on a pair of Monden free throws.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Reeves and Eric Chatfield gave Georgia Tech a 15-11 lead with 7:13 left. Georgia Tech led 21-14 before the Hawks closed the gap to three at the half.
