ST. LOUIS REGION
Ga. Tech 72
Nevada 67
ST. LOUIS – The basketball team of one of the world’s great engineering schools has bridged a 13-year gap between Elite Eight appearances with defense.
Georgia Tech scored one basket in the final six minutes Sunday and still survived Boston College. And last night, minus leading scorer B.J. Elder with a sprained ankle from the game’s second minute and presented with a stiff challenge by 10th-seeded Nevada, the Yellow Jackets got stop after stop down the stretch and a spectacular tie-breaking reverse off a baseline drive by Will Bynum with 1:07 remaining to survive, 72-67, and advance to tomorrow’s regional final against Kansas.
“This is the reason we flourish so much, a deep team that has guys step up, like Will Bynum did,” said guard Jarret Jack.
Marvin Lewis, who had consecutive threes down the stretch to take his team from a 58-57 deficit to a 63-58 lead, finished with 23 points, but as always with Paul Hewitt’s team, it’s not what the Yellow Jackets make, but what they give, which isn’t much. Nevada was held to 32 percent shooting.
“We thought controlling (forward) Nick Fazekas (six points) would be a big key to controlling the game,” said Hewitt. “And we just wanted Kirk Snyder (Nevada’s NBA lottery-potential forward) to have to take as many tough shots as we could.”
“I didn’t sense at all that they even knew B.J. couldn’t play any more. I just said [at halftime] keep playing like you have your whole life. Relax on offense, but keep grinding it on defense. Holding them to 21 per cent shooting in the second half was just a great job.”
Nevada, up five at the half, got the first basket of the second half, then went six minutes without scoring again. Guard Todd Okeson, who keyed the astonishing 19-point rout of second-seeded Gonzaga, shot only five-for-19 after starting well.