Recap: Oklahoma State vs. Georgia Tech
Sports Network | March 20, 2010
Milwaukee, WI (Sports Network) - Iman Shumpert had just nine points, but his four free throws in the final two-plus minutes of the contest helped 10th- seeded Georgia Tech take a 64-59 decision over seventh-seeded Oklahoma State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region.
Gani Lawal had 14 points and six rebounds and Derrick Favors added 12 and nine boards for the Yellow Jackets (23-12), who advanced to the second round and will face Ohio State, which dismantled UC Santa Barbara on Friday, 68-51.
"I thought we stayed really disciplined defensively," said Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt. "Didn't foul too much, contested shots, and played a really solid basketball game against a very good team."
Georgia Tech improved to 23-15 in this event thanks to 24-of-25 shooting from the free throw line. This is its first appearance in the tourney since 2007.
"They were falling tonight," said Lawal about the free throw shooting. "We've had some tough nights this year, but we had a good night tonight. We're going to keep practicing doing what we're doing and hopefully they keep going in like this."
Marshall Moses had 14 points, Keiton Page had 13 points and James Anderson added 11 points and five rebounds for the Cowboys (22-11), who received an at-large bid after falling short against Kansas State in the Big 12 tourney quarterfinals.
"I give congratulations to Georgia Tech, a team that played very hard," said Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford. "They were able to go out and play very, very physical and very aggressive and we were not. We didn't go out -- and I thought we played on our heels a little bit too much. That's evident by the rebounding margin. They got to the foul line 12 more times, which is a sign of aggressiveness."
Oklahoma State held a five-point lead at the start of the second half, but Georgia Tech clawed its way back and took a 45-43 lead on Zachery Peacock's jumper with under 13 minutes to play.
The Yellow Jackets held a 51-49 lead for over three minutes as both offenses missed several shots, but Brian Oliver hit two from the line with just under five minutes to play to give Georgia Tech a 53-49 advantage.
Obi Muonelo countered with a three-ball at the other end and Shumpert hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with 4:06 to play for a 54-52 lead for Georgia Tech.
A bit later, Anderson picked off the ball from Favors and went down the court for an uncontested slam to tie the game with 3:30 to play.
The teams then exchanged a pair of free throws at either end before Favors made his two from the stripe with 2:27 to play and Shumpert was fouled as he went for a layup and drained both his shots with 2:04 remaining for a 60-56 lead.
Page, though, went to the ball-fake from long range and then calmly buried a three-ball with 1:41 on the clock.
Maurice Miller rimmed a jumper at the other end, but got back his own rebound and Shumpert was fouled with 42.5 seconds left. He drained both of his free throws to give the Yellow Jackets a 62-59 edge.
Oklahoma State tried to set up for a shot at the other end, but Miller stole the ball from Anderson. Miller hit his two from the line with 17 seconds left to seal the win.
The Yellow Jackets scored the first six points of the game, but Oklahoma State settled in and a three-point play from Anderson tied things at 13 just over six minutes in.
The contest stayed close over the next several minutes, but with the Cowboys holding a one-point lead, Moses tipped in a ball and followed with a layup before Page buried a layup for a 34-27 Oklahoma State advantage with 3 1/2 minutes to go in the half.
Georgia Tech responded with a pair of buckets, but Muonelo hit a shot in the closing moments to give the Cowboys a 36-31 lead at the break.
The Cowboys fell to 38-23 in the tourney...Each team has won twice in the series...Oklahoma State shot 50.0 percent in the game while Georgia Tech made 43.2 percent of its shots...Muonelo finished with 10 points...Georgia Tech won for the first time this season when allowing an opponent to shot at least 50 percent.
