The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tech's 3-pointers help deliver win at Syracuse
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner repeatedly asserted his team was better at 3-point shooting than it was showing. On Saturday night, the promised version finally showed up, handing Syracuse an unlikely 73-59 defeat at the Carrier Dome.
A flurry of 3-pointers by guards Jose Alvarado and Curtis Haywood in the sec- ond half helped the Jackets earn their most significant ACC road win in Pastner’s tenure, now in its third season. Tech entered the game 2-16 in ACC road games under Pastner, a record quite at odds with the Jackets’ performance at home in his first two seasons, 12-6. It was, in fact, the second-largest disparity between home and road performance in the ACC.
In one of the signature arenas in college basketball, Tech (10-6, 2-1 ACC) played most of the game with patience against the Orange’s vaunted zone defense and benefited from Syracuse’s poor shooting, particularly from 3-point range.
And, after entering the game shooting 30.9 percent from 3-point range (which, rather remarkably, ranked 309th in the NCAA), the Jack- ets made 6 of 12 3-pointers to run away from the Orange.
Haywood and Alvarardo were a combined 6 for 9 from 3-point range, and the two scored a combined 34 points to lead the Jackets. They were central to Tech’s 24-7 run to start the second half that put the Jackets ahead 51-33 with 12:37 to play in the second half.
Tech led 27-26 at the end of the first half despite turning the ball over 10 times in 29 possessions. When they weren’t giving the ball away, the Jackets were moving the ball effectively against Syra-
cuse, working possessions to get open shots underneath the zone.
In the second half, the Jackets began taking care of the ball better and taking advantage of Syracuse misses to score in transi- tion. Haywood scored on a layup in transition for a 36-28 lead, then dug out a rebound after a Syracuse miss and pushed the ball up the floor to Alvarado, who made a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 39-28.
Two possessions later, Alvarado returned the favor, finding Haywood for a 3 in transition and a 42-30 advantage.
Tech’s lead peaked at 51-33 — on another Alvarado basket in transition — and the Jackets held on the rest of the way, scraping together enough points as Syracuse stepped up its defensive pressure.
It was scoring efficiency the Jackets have not expe- rienced much this season. Their offensive frailty was on full display in their previous game, a 52-49 defeat at home to No. 9 Virginia Tech on Wednesday. The Jackets held the Hokies, one of the most efficient offenses in the country, to a season-low in scoring and field-goal percentage but still lost after turning the ball over 18 times and shooting 9 for 16 from the free-throw line.
Before Saturday, Tech’s only ACC road wins under Pastner had been against N.C. State in January 2017 and Pittsburgh in January 2017, two teams that dismissed their coach at season’s end. Pastner said before Saturday the Jackets needed to adopt a “road warrior mentality,” particularly stressing better defensive play. Tech was up to the task against Syracuse, limiting the Orange to 31.6 shooting and forcing 19 turnovers.
Syracuse (11-5, 2-1) had won four consecutive games against the Jackets and had beaten Notre Dame and Clemson in its first two ACC games.
Hunting for looks against Tech’s zone, the Orange shot 7 for 33 from 3-point range (21.2 percent), well below their season rate of 30.3 percent. Defending the 3 with their zone is a specialty of the Jackets. Tech opponents had shot 27.5 percent from beyond the arc coming into the game, eighth in the NCAA.