Field Level Media
Dec 21, 2021
Jordan Usher scored nine of his career-high 30 points in overtime to lead host Georgia Tech to a 72-62 overtime victory over cross-town rival Georgia State in a nonconference game on Tuesday in Atlanta.
Usher went 8-for-14 from the field, including 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, and hit 9-for-10 at the free-throw line. He also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Kyle Sturdivant had 12 points and Khalid Moore added 11 for Georgia Tech (6-5), which ended a four-game losing streak.
Georgia State (6-5) was led by Corey Allen's 15 points, which came mostly as he went 4-for-11 from 3-point range. Kane Williams and Nelson Phillips added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
With the game tied at 59 after regulation, Usher started the extra session by splitting a pair of free throws before making a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Yellow Jackets a 63-59 lead with four minutes left.
After Moore made two free throws to push the lead to 65-59, Usher hit another 3-pointer to extend the lead to 68-59 with 2:50 remaining.
Trailing by 40-33 at halftime, Georgia State opened the second half on a 19-6 run. Along the way, Allen's jumper gave the Panthers a 47-46 lead, and two free throws by Williams ended the burst and pushed the lead to 52-46 with 7:59 left in regulation.
Trailing 54-53 with under four minutes left, the Yellow Jackets missed a layup and two 3-pointers before Georgia State's Jalen Thomas made two free throws for a 56-53 lead with 3:09 left.
Michael Devoe went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game at 56 with 1:38, but he missed the second attempt to make it 56-55. Williams made two free throws on the Panthers' ensuing possession to make it 58-55 with 1:20 left.
Usher's two free throws pulled the Yellow Jackets to within 58-57 with 1:18 left. The Yellow Jackets got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but Sturdivant missed a jumper and Phillips went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line to make it 59-57 with 20 seconds left.
Usher drew a shooting foul and made both free throws to tie the game at 59 with 10 seconds left, with Allen missing a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Devoe, who entered averaging 22.4 points per game -- second-most in Division I -- was held to eight points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range.
--Field Level Media