Rice vs. Georgia Tech final score: Yellow Jackets advance with 54-36 win

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team posted a win over the Rice Owls on Friday night, taking their opening-round game in the DirectTV Classic, 54-36. Tech led at halftime but a 13-3 run to open the second half helped put the game out of reach.

Brandon Reed was the star of that run, putting up a jumper from 12 feet out and a three-pointer just 32 seconds later. Freshman Marcus Georges-Hunt led the team in scoring, putting up 11 points with nine rebounds and two assists. The Yellow Jackets were all over the boards, grabbing 50 rebounds to just 23 for Rice.

As a team, Tech shot 38.9 percent, compared to just 22.9 percent for the Owls. Austin Ramljak led the scoring for Rice with 18 points, double the next closest man. Three of Rice's starting five had no points on the night.

Georgia Tech is now 3-0. Their opponent in the second round of the tournament will be either the Drake Bulldogs or the California Golden Bears.