Dai Dai Ames scored 18 factors on Wednesday evening to assist California earn a pivotal 76-65 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Convention play in Atlanta.
Lee Dort added 16 factors and John Camden posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for California (21-8, 9-8 ACC), which wanted to keep away from a catastrophic loss to protect its NCAA Event hopes. Chris Bell scored 10 factors and Justin Pippen had eight assists for the Golden Bears, who trailed by 12 factors early.
Kowacie Reeves Jr.’s 19 factors led Georgia Tech (11-19, 2-15), adopted by Akai Fleming’s 16 and Jaeden Mustaf’s 10. Lamar Washington tallied eight factors, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, who dropped their eleventh straight recreation. Georgia Tech dedicated 17 turnovers in its last house recreation this season.
California took its first lead of the evening with 16:57 left, as Ames’ layup and subsequent 3-pointer gave the guests a 41-38 edge. Camden’s 3-pointer gave the Golden Bears a 50-44 lead on the 13:02 mark.
Cal grabbed its first double-digit lead on DeJuan Campbell’s two free throws, earlier than the margin ballooned to 14 on Ames’ 3-pointer with 8:46 remaining.
A late Georgia Tech surge sliced its deficit to 6, however Ames’ layup put the Golden Bears a 72-61 lead on the 1:31 mark to seal the comeback win.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 16-6 lead, with Reeves drilling his first three 3-point makes an attempt. Cal pulled inside six on Bell’s layup with 8:31 left within the opening half.
After Fleming’s three-point play gave the Yellow Jackets a 30-20 lead, Bell’s dunk stamped a 6-0 spurt to slice the deficit to 4.
Reeves’ fifth trey of the primary half put the Yellow Jackets forward by seven, however Dort’s dunk trimmed the margin to some extent.
Mustaf’s three-point play closed the primary half, giving Georgia Tech a 36-32 halftime lead. Reeves led all scorers with 19 first-half factors. Cal missed all 12 of its 3-point makes an attempt within the first 20 minutes. Georgia Tech’s halftime lead was its first since Jan. 3 in a 65-53 house win over Boston Faculty.
–Area Stage Media
