ATHENS — Junior guard J.J. Frazier poured in a season-high 35 points in Georgia’s, 75-61, defeat of Georgia Tech Saturday afternoon in Stegeman Coliseum.
The Bulldogs (5-3) are now 26-6 all-time against the Yellow Jackets (7-3) in Stegeman Coliseum and 52-31 all-time in games played in Athens. The win closed the all-time record gap to 105-87 in favor of Georgia Tech.
Sophomore forward Yante Maten joined Frazier in double figures with 17 points. The Pontiac, Michigan native chipped in four rebounds and three blocks for a complete performance. Frazier finished the night with six three-pointers and went 11-12 from the free throw line.
“That’s a great win for our team,” head coach Mark Fox said. “It’s a great win and our kids have practiced well. We have practiced them very hard in the last 10 days. They have gotten better and beat a good Georgia Tech basketball team. If you look at their numbers they’re probably in the top 50 or 60 in the country. It’s a resume win in that regard and certainly a good win for our team.”
The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets battled back and forth for the initial 20 minutes. Georgia Tech took a one-point, 34-33, lead into the break. J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten teamed up to score 24 of the team’s 33 first-half points, while Tadric Jackson led the Yellow Jackets with nine points.
Georgia raced out of the gates to begin the second half with a 7-0 run. Kenny Gaines got things started down low, followed by a J.J. Frazier three point-basket on the ensuing possession. Houston Kessler topped it off with a layup on fast break, forcing the Yellow Jackets to burn a timeout.
The Bulldogs held on to their lead for all of the second period. After allowing the Yellow Jackets to shoot 50-percent in the first half, the Bulldogs buckled down on the defensive end and held Georgia Tech to just 29.6-percent shooting in the second half. Georgia made its free throws down the stretch to secure the
The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. ET to host Clemson at Stegeman Coliseum. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
