BIG WIN: Jackets hold off Terps for home victory

It has been a tough season for Brian Gregory and crew, but the Yellow Jackets, led by Mfon Udofia, were able to pull off the upset and beat Maryland 63-61 Saturday afternoon. “Down nine in the second half we could have quit, but we didn’t,” head coach Brian Gregory said after the game. “I challenged our guys a little bit… and they did a good job responding.”

Udofia had a banner day, setting a career-high for assists in the first half alone. Udofia had seven assists at the break and finished the game with nine. The junior also added nine rebounds to make up for only going 3-8 from the floor, including 0-3 from beyond the arc. Gregory was more than happy to praise his point guard afterwards. “[Udofia] is playing as well as maybe his entire career.”

Tech started strong, jumping out to a 10-2 lead early in the game thanks to two big 3-pointers from Jason Morris. He had struggled in recent games, going 0-12 on 3-point attempts in the last three games; however, he hit two in the opening minutes, and ended the game with nine points.

Morris wasn’t needed as much on the offensive end because Kammeon Holsey had the best game of his young career. Holsey had the first double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Sparta native did most of his damage from the line, going 6-7 from the charity stripe.

Maryland made a run late in the first half and took the lead 30-29 for the first time with 3:44 to go before intermission Sean Mosley was on fire for Maryland, scoring 14 points in the first half on 5-6 shooting. Mosley torched the Jackets in their first meeting as well, putting in 18 points in a 61-50 victory in January. Tech defenders did a much better job defending Mosley in the second half, holding the senior to 0-4 shooting and only allowing him to score two points, both on free throws.

Daniel Miller also finished with a strong game, going 5-7 from the field for 10 points and adding a couple of assists. Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon talked about the physicality inside by Tech after the game. “The game got physical and we couldn’t handle it. We had a nine-point lead and they out toughed us,” said Turgeon. The first year coach for the Terps even took time to take a side jab at Tech shooters, “They made a lot of shots they haven’t been making.”

While the Jackets did shoot better than in recent games, the comment came out of nowhere. Tech shot 44.9%, while Maryland was held to only 34.5%. “I thought in the second half we had five guys playing total team defense,” Gregory beamed afterwards.

Tech took control early in the second half. The Terps opened the half shooting 1-13, and allowed the Yellow Jackets to go on a 13-3 run. Brandon Reed, who only scored four points in the game for Tech, hit the game clinching three from way beyond the three-point line with less than a minute to go in the game. The Yellow Jackets did commit a five-second violation with 18 seconds left in the game with only a three-point lead, but Maryland’s three-pointer clanked off the back iron.

The Yellow Jackets will now prepare to finish their season strong with two games left before the conference tournament. Tech will travel to face Boston College on Wednesday before facing off against Wake Forest on Senior Day next Saturday.