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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia Tech was supposed to be rebuilding.
Instead, it keeps beating some of the best teams in the country.
|  | | Freshman Halston Lane -- 21 points -- is starting to get used to upsets like this. |
Freshman Halston Lane scored 21 points and the Yellow Jackets
upset their second Top 10 team in a row, upending No. 6 Wake Forest
95-89 in overtime Saturday night.
"I can say that Georgia Tech basketball is alive and well,"
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. "I just hate that it was at our
expense."
The Demon Deacons (13-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) tied the
game at 82 when Ervin Murray tipped in a missed shot just a
split-second before the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation.
But Georgia Tech (10-5, 2-2), expected to be one of the ACC's
worst teams under first-year coach Paul Hewitt, scored the first
six points of the extra period while Wake Forest was missing five
straight shots.
The Yellow Jackets won on the road Tuesday night, beating Virginia (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) 73-68. They didn't suffer a letdown back home at Alexander
Memorial Coliseum, which rocked like it did in the good ol' days
when Bobby Cremins was guiding the program to nine straight NCAA
appearances.
"I was very impressed," said Hewitt, who replaced Cremins
after the Jackets fell on hard times. "Believe me, it takes a lot
to impress me."
It's the first time since the 1985 NCAA tournament that Georgia
Tech has defeated two Top 10 teams in a row, and the first
consecutive victories over ranked teams since 1996.
The near-sellout crowd chanted "Overrated! Overrated!" at the
Demon Deacons, who wore down in the extra period against Georgia
Tech's relentless pressure.
"Coach Hewitt has done a remarkable job in short order," Odom
said. "It really is unbelievable. He has an excellent scheme. The
players have taken to it and so have the Georgia Tech fans."
Shaun Fein put Georgia Tech ahead with 43.1 seconds left in
regulation, converting a three-point play. But the Yellow Jackets
couldn't ice the victory at the foul line.
T.J. Vines made only one of two after being fouled and Tony
Akins, a 77.5 percent foul shooter, missed three in a row before
making one with seven seconds to go that put Georgia Tech ahead
82-80.
Darius Songaila drove the length of the court and put up a shot
that rolled off the rim. Murray crashed the boards, tipping the
ball in before the horn.
Wake Forest seemed to have the momentum, but Georgia Tech
dominated in overtime.
"We hung in there, which is the thing we've been trying to
establish," Hewitt said. "We didn't hang our heads. We came out
and put a bigger run on them to finally put them away."
Lane, who had just four points in the first half, ignited the
Yellow Jackets after the break by hitting four 3-pointers. The
lightly recruited freshman keeps performing well against prominent
opponents, just missing his career high of 23 points against
Kentucky.
"It's great playing against the teams I watched growing up,"
Lane said. "Everybody understands now that I belong. That's not a
question anymore."
Trailing 88-85, Broderick Hicks had a chance to tie with a
3-pointer. He missed with 50 seconds remaining, and this time the
Yellow Jackets sealed the victory with free throws.
Georgia Tech, playing its fourth straight ranked team, led
throughout the first half and built the margin to 27-13 on Marvin
Lewis' three-point play with 7:55 remaining.
But the Yellow Jackets made only one of their last seven shots
in the first half, allowing Wake Forest to close the gap to 36-31.
The Demon Deacons took the lead for the first time when Tech
started the second half 1-of-7 from the field.
Lane turned it around, hitting three straight 3s as a 46-44
deficit became a 55-48 lead.
"Those were backbreaking shots," said Odom, whose team hit
just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc.
Lane was one of five players in double figures for the Yellow
Jackets. Alvin Jones had 17 points -- plus 10 rebounds -- while Fein
added 16 points, Lewis 15 and Akins 14.
Craig Dawson led the Demon Deacons with 16 points. Robert
O'Kelley and Songaila had 15 apiece.
Wake Forest held its 24th straight opponent below 50 percent
shooting, but the Yellow Jackets did hit nearly 46 percent
(31-of-68). Wake Forest was allowing 36 percent for the season.
"We came out playing hard, but Lane kept hitting the 3s," said
Wake Forest forward Josh Howard. "I guess we just went to sleep on
him."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Wake Forest Clubhouse
Georgia Tech Clubhouse
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