All of the warning signs were in place for Georgia Tech’s match-up with the Richmond Spiders in the inaugural Battle at Atlantis. Number one it was the first game after exam week and the Jackets were traveling to Paradise Island in the Bahamas for the game where there most certainly were distractions available. Yet Tech turned in a blue collar approach to the game and was able to come away with a 67-54 victory.
Iman Shumpert started fast scoring 18 of his team leading 21 points in the first half. Maurice Miller started the game and chipped in 11 points. Glen Rice Jr. came off the bench and provided a spark late scoring all nine of his points in the second half.
The Spider’s hung tough in this game led by junior forward Justin Harper’s 15 points. Tech took a slim one point lead into half time 25-24 and led in the second half 36-34. Kammeon Holsey gave Tech the lead for good with a jump shot at the 12:41 mark which was part of a 12-2 Jackets run to help them pull away.
Tech shifted into a full court press during the second half which helped lead the Spiders into 14 team turnovers. Essentially Tech was on the attack the entire game with Iman Shumpert leading the charge.
The Yellow Jackets will be back on the court Wednesday when they go on the road to face Paul Hewitt’s former squad the Siena Saints.