Written by Adrian Beecher
New York, NY - Josh Okogie’s 22 points and 9 rebounds helped to lead the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to a 76-61 NIT Semifinal victory over CSU Bakersfield at Madison Square Garden. Early on things were close, but it soon became clear who the more dominant team was. Here’s how it all went down.
Georgia Tech won the opening tip and got things started on their second possession with a jumper from Ben Lammers. The Yellow Jackets would make it 4-0 before Bakersfield out in their first bucket with a jumper from Jaylin Airington with 17:36 left in the half. However, Georgia Tech would keep their tempo going early, pushing their lead with an 8-2 run to open the game.
The first triple of the game came from CSU Bakersfield’s Jaylin Airington with 15:26 left in the first half to make it 8-5 with the Jackets on top. The Yellow Jackets kept their pressure on and were able to push their lead to 7 points with 11:12 left in the first half. Then things went mostly back and forth over the next four minutes, as the Roadrunners were able to cut the lead as it fluctuated between a 3 and a 7-point deficit.
Then the Yellow Jackets went on a 7-0 run to take a 29-18 lead with 5:18 left to play. After that, things slowed down ahead of halftime with the Yellow Jackets only scoring 4 points before Jackson hit a triple at the Buzzer to send the Georgia Tech into the locker room with a 36-26 lead on USC Bakersfield. Before Jackson’s triple, it was CSU’s Dedrick Basile hitting a triple for the Roadrunners.
Leading the way in scoring for Georgia Tech at the half was Josh Okogie. For the Roadrunners it was Durham and Airington leading the way with 7 points each.
CSU Bakersfield started the 2nd half with possession and got the first points with two free throws from Matt Smith to cut it to an 8-point game. Then the Jackets were again able to push their lead to 12 points before a triple from the Dedrick Basile for CSU to cut it back to 9. This was a constant climb for the Roadrunners, with Georgia Tech continuously pulling away slowly. They would cut it to 8 points with another triple from Basile before the Yellow Jackets went on a 13-3 run to push their lead to 18 with 11:49 left to play.
The Roadrunners continued to struggle to fight their way back into this one and with just 7:51 left to play, the Yellow Jackets had a 19-point lead. It was a struggle the rest of the way for CSU Bakersfield to put a dent in the Jackets lead. They would cut it to 14 points with 3:24 left to play, but that was all the closer they would get. As the final buzzer sounded, it was a 76-61 victory for the Yellow Jackets as they sealed their spot in the NIT Championship game Thursday, March 30th.
Georgia Tech won the opening tip and got things started on their second possession with a jumper from Ben Lammers. The Yellow Jackets would make it 4-0 before Bakersfield out in their first bucket with a jumper from Jaylin Airington with 17:36 left in the half. However, Georgia Tech would keep their tempo going early, pushing their lead with an 8-2 run to open the game.
The first triple of the game came from CSU Bakersfield’s Jaylin Airington with 15:26 left in the first half to make it 8-5 with the Jackets on top. The Yellow Jackets kept their pressure on and were able to push their lead to 7 points with 11:12 left in the first half. Then things went mostly back and forth over the next four minutes, as the Roadrunners were able to cut the lead as it fluctuated between a 3 and a 7-point deficit.
Then the Yellow Jackets went on a 7-0 run to take a 29-18 lead with 5:18 left to play. After that, things slowed down ahead of halftime with the Yellow Jackets only scoring 4 points before Jackson hit a triple at the Buzzer to send the Georgia Tech into the locker room with a 36-26 lead on USC Bakersfield. Before Jackson’s triple, it was CSU’s Dedrick Basile hitting a triple for the Roadrunners.
Leading the way in scoring for Georgia Tech at the half was Josh Okogie. For the Roadrunners it was Durham and Airington leading the way with 7 points each.
CSU Bakersfield started the 2nd half with possession and got the first points with two free throws from Matt Smith to cut it to an 8-point game. Then the Jackets were again able to push their lead to 12 points before a triple from the Dedrick Basile for CSU to cut it back to 9. This was a constant climb for the Roadrunners, with Georgia Tech continuously pulling away slowly. They would cut it to 8 points with another triple from Basile before the Yellow Jackets went on a 13-3 run to push their lead to 18 with 11:49 left to play.
The Roadrunners continued to struggle to fight their way back into this one and with just 7:51 left to play, the Yellow Jackets had a 19-point lead. It was a struggle the rest of the way for CSU Bakersfield to put a dent in the Jackets lead. They would cut it to 14 points with 3:24 left to play, but that was all the closer they would get. As the final buzzer sounded, it was a 76-61 victory for the Yellow Jackets as they sealed their spot in the NIT Championship game Thursday, March 30th.