ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia Tech spent most of Saturday chasing UNC Asheville at McCamish Pavilion, then needed a single free throw in the final second to stay unbeaten, holding on for a 75-74 men’s basketball win.
The Yellow Jackets are now 4-0 under first-year coach Scott Cross, their first 4-0 start since the 2008-09 season. Cross is only the third coach in program history to open his tenure that way, and the first since Roy McArthur in 1946-47. Asheville fell to 2-3.
Tech looked out of sorts early. The Jackets scored just 25 points in the first half on 10-of-35 shooting and went to the locker room down 32-25. Asheville stretched its cushion to 14 points with about 10 minutes left after leading for more than 31 minutes overall.
The comeback came from pressure defense and the bench. Georgia Tech poured in 50 points after halftime, 30 of them from reserves, made more than half of its 3-point tries in the period and turned the ball over only twice. Kaiden Bailey scored all 11 of his points after the break, while Tylis Jordan and Courtland Muldrew each added 10 in the second half.
The ending was frantic. Down three with 13 seconds left, Asheville tied the game at 74 on a 3-pointer by Connor Dubsky with three seconds remaining. Tech was fouled with one second on the clock, and Victor Valdes made one of two free throws to win it.
Jackson Fields had 12 points and 10 rebounds by halftime for his second career double-double. For the visitors, Myles Mayfield scored 21 on 9-of-11 shooting.
Georgia Tech continues its homestand Tuesday, Nov. 17, against Norfolk State, with tipoff at 7 p.m.
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