Lawal, Georgia Tech Outlast Charlotte 76-67

D’Andre Bell’s three-pointer bounced off the front rim, went straight up in the air, and dropped in. The crucial three-pointer gave Georgia Tech a 68-66 lead they wouldn’t relinquish and an 11-2 start, the best for the Yellow Jackets since the 2004-05 season.

“The opportunity presented itself, the whole game, I was taking good shots,” Bell said of his clutch shot. “I just stayed confident. My team kept urging me on to shoot. I just stayed confident and I got it done.”

Bell’s three-pointer came just after Charlotte senior DiJuan Harris had given the 49ers their first lead since the opening minutes with a three of his own. Georgia Tech controlled the opening minutes of the second half and built their lead to as much as 15 at one point.

Derrio Green wouldn’t let the Yellow Jackets pull away though. The sophomore guard scored 18 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and ignited the Halton Arena crowd with four second-half three-pointers. The 31 points by Green was the most by a 49er since last season and also a career high.

“They (Georgia Tech) were just giving me open shots,” Green said of his second-half flurry. “DiJuan kept penetrating for me and getting me open and I was just knocking them down. I was getting wide-open shots.”

For Charlotte, the first half was filled with turnovers and sloppy passes. The Niners knocked down two early three’s to go up 6-2, but Tech went on a quick 17-2 run to open up their lead. Charlotte committed 12 turnovers in the first half alone, leading to 17 Georgia Tech points, 10 on the fast break.

Even with the sloppy play in the opening stanza, the Niners were still within shouting distance at the half, down just 37-29.

“Our inability to take care of the basketball in the first half was huge,” 49ers coach Bobby Lutz said following the loss. “They didn’t really score that much in the first half if you take away the turnovers and the dunks and layups. But they’re a good team and they took advantage of that.”

When Gani Lawal knocked down two free throws at the 8:02 mark of the second half, Georgia Tech had built their lead to 12 at 61-49. That’s when things started to get crazy. Green nailed a three off the left wing while center Phil Jones was being fouled setting a pick. Jones missed the front end of the one-and-one but An’Juan Wilderness grabbed the offensive rebound and found Green for another trey off the left wing. Just like that, Tech’s 12-point lead had been cut in half in less than five seconds.

Another Green bucket and a reverse layup by Wilderness completed the 10-0 run and Charlotte had cut the lead to two, 61-59. A pair of Harris free-throws tied the score at 63 and after a pair of Lawal free throws, Harris gave Charlotte their first lead of the second half with his third trey of the game.

After the Bell three-pointer, Green airballed a three of his own at the other end. Lawal added two more free throws at the other end to make it a four-point game, 70-66. Tech added six more foul shots in the final 27 seconds to ice Charlotte and give the 49ers their first home loss of the season, 76-67.

Lawal led Georgia Tech with 29 points and 10 rebounds. He also added a crucial, late-game block on Charlotte forward Chris Braswell when Tech was nursing a two-point lead. Lawal, a potential NBA lottery pick next season, knocked down 17-of-20 fouls shots on the night. Georgia tech came in shooting just 66 percent from the foul line, but on Saturday night, the Jackets were nearly perfect, going 29-of-32 from the stripe.

Charlotte held their own on the boards and were only outrebounded 41-31. Tech’s frontline combination of Lawal and freshman sensation Derrick Favors have been tabbed by many as the best front court in the nation and both will likely be first-round NBA draft picks next season. Charlotte had difficulty scoring the ball inside against the powerful duo as leading scorer Shamari Spears was held to just eight points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field.

Charlotte will get back to work right away as they head to Knoxville to take on Wayne Chism and shorthanded Tennessee. Four UT players including starter Tyler Smith were arrested over the weekend and are facing misdemeanor drug, alcohol and weapons charges.

Game Observations from The Sports Fix:
The frontline duo for Tech of Lawal and Favors are sure to be first-round picks in the 2010 NBA Draft. The size and wingspan of both players was a clear advantage for Tech and played a large role in outrebounding the Niners by 10. This game was very physical and there were several hard fouls by both teams. Junior Shamari Spears was sent to the bench for several minutes after his lip was cut open by a Georgia Tech player on an offensive foul. Chasing a loose ball early in the second half, senior Charlotte point guard DiJuan Harris went flying over press row and into the first row but was not injured. In the final minute, Derrio Green pulled up lame with an apparent right foot injury, he did not return and it is undetermined as to whether he’ll play against Tennessee.