Georgia Tech rolls past Elon on rough shooting night

ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Devoe tied his career high with 22 points on a rough shooting night to lead Georgia Tech to a 64-41 win over Elon on a night where both teams had a tough time finding the basket.

The Yellow Jackets (2-0) were particularly stingy on defense, holding Elon to 21.6 percent shooting (16-of-74) but they struggled in the first half in the absence of junior point guard Jose Alvarado, who missed the game with a sprained right ankle. The Phoenix made just 3-of-30 3-point shots.

Tech made just 7-of-23 shots before intermission in McCamish Pavilion, yet led 25-13 because the Phoenix (2-1) made just 6-of-32 shots.

Senior center James Banks pitched in 11 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots for the Yellow Jackets while Marcus Sheffield led Elon with 12 points.

The Jackets weren’t much better shooting the ball in the first half than Elon, as they made 7-of-23, but they had a 24-18 rebounding advantage and Devoe, a sophomore guard, scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. His teammates went 3-of-16 in the first half.

The Jackets pulled away steadily in the second half, as Devoe hit 3-of-4 shots and found himself at the free throw line frequently. He made 5-of-6 there to complement a night where he was good on 3-of-4 3 pointers.

TIP-INS

Elon: The Phoenix had absolutely nothing go right in the course of play, and made it to the free throw line just 10 times, hitting on six.

Georgia Tech: The Jackets don’t have much to be proud of after this one outside of their defense. They made just 7-of-24 3-pointers and turned the ball over 17 times in a game where they were not anywhere near as impressive as in their season-opening 82-81 win at North Carolina State last Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Elon: The Phoenix travel to face Michigan on Friday.

Georgia Tech: The Jackets are off for more than a week before playing at rival Georgia on Nov. 20.