Nasir Whitlock scored a game-high 29 points Friday night to help Georgia Tech earn a 95-83 victory over upset-minded Georgia Southern in Atlanta.
Whitlock drilled four 3-pointers and went 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.
Colby Garland, Tylis Jordan and Kam Craft added 11 points apiece for Georgia Tech (2-0), which made 36 of 47 free-throw attempts (76.6%).
Truman Claytor IV led Georgia Southern (1-1) with 24 points, followed by Eltramon Smith’s 20 and Josh Dixon’s 13. Dallas Gardner chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles, who shot just 53.1% (17 of 32) from the foul line.
Georgia Southern outrebounded its Atlantic Coast Conference opponent 45-34, including a 24-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
Holding a six-point halftime lead, Georgia Tech widened the gap to 11 on Craft’s layup early in the second half.
Gardner split a pair of free throws to pull the Eagles within five before Whitlock buried a 3-pointer to snap a field-goal drought of more than four minutes, giving the Yellow Jackets a 77-69 edge with 8:17 remaining.
Ilja Kurucs scored consecutive baskets to put the Yellow Jackets ahead by 11 with 3:13 left, helping seal the victory.
Craft drilled three 3-pointers in the first three minutes to give Georgia Tech a 12-4 lead.
Rashaad Williams became the fourth Georgia Southern player to make a 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to 23-19 at the 10:39 mark.
Kayden Allen answered with consecutive layups to push the margin back to eight.
Georgia Tech took its first double-digit lead on a pair of Garland free throws with 7:12 left in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets connected on seven of their first 10 3-point attempts, including Kaiden Bailey’s first points of the game, which gave Georgia Tech a 45-35 lead.
Georgia Tech led 51-45 at halftime. Whitlock and Claytor led their respective teams with 15 first-half points apiece.