Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Georgia Tech 85, West Georgia 62
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Where: McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Georgia
Officials: # Eric Lewis, # Jeff Pon, # Kellen Miliner
Attendance: 3530

Javian McCollum scored a game-high 18 points, helping lead Georgia Tech to an 85-62 win over West Georgia on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 15 points for the Yellow Jackets, who won their third straight season opener. Baye Ndongo chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds while Luke O'Brien had eight points and 10 rebounds for Georgia Tech, which shot 48.5 percent from the field and held the Wolves to 35.9 percent shooting.

Playing in its second game as a Division I school, West Georgia (0-2) was led by Shelton Williams-Dryden's 13 points. Kolten Griffin added 11 points for the Wolves, and Rickey Ballard contributed eight points off the bench.

Georgia Tech started quickly, jumping out to an 11-2 lead on Reeves' dunk mark. After a 5-0 West Georgia run cut the deficit to 11-7, O'Brien's mid-range jumper followed by McCollum's triple and Lance Terry's dunk extended the Yellow Jackets' lead to 18-7 with 12:29 left in the first half.

The hosts continued to add to their margin when O'Brien's layup capped a 6-0 scoring run with 3:50 remaining for a 39-20 edge.

Williams-Dryden scored on consecutive West Georgia possessions in the final minute of the first half, but Georgia Tech held a 50-29 lead at the break. Reeves led the Yellow Jackets with 11 first-half points, while Williams-Dryden paced the Wolves with seven.

McCollum opened the second half with a 3-pointer, before a 6-2 West Georgia spurt cut the gap to 55-35 with 17:10 left.

The Yellow Jackets then saw their advantage balloon to 30 after Ndongo, Reeves and Duncan Powell each scored inside baskets. After Tauris Watson's 3-pointer cut the Georgia Tech lead to 77-52 at the 8:52 mark, neither team connected on a field goal until Ballard's triple with 4:27 left trimmed the Wolves' deficit to 24.

Georgia Tech was held without a field goal for 8:12 until Powell's 3-pointer with 1:01 left.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
West Georgia   Georgia Tech
Shelton Williams-Dryden 13 Scoring Javian McCollum 18
Kolten Griffin 2 Assists Naithan George 7
Shelton Williams-Dryden 5 Rebounds Luke O'Brien 10
Demetrus Johnson II 4 Free Throws Made Baye Ndongo 4
Brady Hardewig 2 Steals Javian McCollum 4
Michael Griffin 3 Blocks Baye Ndongo 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
West Georgia 62 35.9 6-15 10-18 10 23 6 6 8
Georgia Tech 85 48.5 7-27 12-17 20 42 6 5 12