Jones leads Grambling St. to upset at Georgia Tech

ATLANTA — Diontae Jones had 18 points and nine rebounds Friday night, when a Georgia Tech player inadvertently tipped a shot into the wrong basket with 6.5 seconds left to send Grambling State to a 6463 upset win over the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech (4-2) had scrambled back from a 16- point deficit to lead 61-60 when Jose Alvarado hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second half with 1:01 left in the game. Alvarado scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, including 11 straight as the Jackets began their rally against the Tigers ( 2- 5), who got 14 points each from Ivy Smith Jr. and Axel Mpoyo.

Alvarado gave Tech a 63-60 lead with two free throws with 43 seconds to go before Grambling State’s Ivy Smith Jr. hit a pair of free throws with no time having gone off the clock because Tech’s Brandon Alston was whistled for a foul on Grambling State’s inbounds pass.

After Tech failed to score on the ensuing possession, the Tigers ran the clock down before Smith missed a drive in the waning seconds. A couple of Tech players got hands on the ball as it came off the rim, sending it back in for the upset.

Tech leading scorer Ben Lammers, who has rarely practiced recently because of a sprained ankle, missed all six of his shots before halftime, and while he had nine rebounds and seven blocked shots, he finished 1-of-7 from the field. Senior guard Tadric Jackson scored 19 points for Tech.