ATLANTA (Interstat) — Georgia Tech used a strong first half and a balanced scoring effort to defeat Hampton 75-55 in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game at Hank McCamish Pavilion. Georgia Tech led 42-15 at halftime and improved to 1-0. Hampton fell to 0-1. The attendance was 6,749.

The decisive stretch came early in the first half. Tylis Jordan opened the scoring with a dunk for the Yellow Jackets, and Jackson Fields added a dunk after Jayme Mitchell made one free throw for the Pirates. Nasir Whitlock made a layup, Fields made one free throw and Colby Garland converted a layup as Georgia Tech took a 9-1 lead. Victor Valdes made two free throws to push the margin to 11-1. Hampton’s Aaron Davis made a jumper, but Georgia Tech answered with a Whitlock layup and a Cole Kirouac dunk. Jackson McVey’s hook shot gave the Yellow Jackets a 21-5 advantage.

Georgia Tech kept pulling away late in the first half. Seth Hubbard made a layup for Hampton, but Fields made a tip-in layup, Kam Craft made a layup and McVey added a hook shot. After Hampton’s Aaron Davis made one free throw, Jordan made one free throw and Craft made a pullup close-range jumper. Kayden Allen made a tip-in layup and later added another layup as Georgia Tech increased its lead. Hampton got a pullup jumper from Mitchell and dunks from Max Frazier, but Georgia Tech closed the half with a 3-point stepback jumper from Craft and a 3-pointer from Garland to lead 42-15 at the break. Hampton was held to 15 first-half points while Georgia Tech scored 42.

Hampton played better after halftime and opened the second half with a 3-pointer from Hubbard. Garland made a layup and a free throw for Georgia Tech, but Nehemiah Lawrence made a 3-pointer for the Pirates. Fields answered with a 3-pointer, and Craft made another 3-pointer. Hampton then got a free throw from Lawrence, a layup from Cornelius Robinson and a layup from Etienne Strothers. Lawrence made another 3-pointer to help the Pirates cut into the lead, but Jordan made two free throws and Garland made a turnaround jumper for Georgia Tech.

Hampton’s Lawrence made a free throw, Robinson made a layup and Strothers made a layup to cut the lead to 51-26. Lawrence later made a 3-pointer, Jordan made two free throws and Garland made a turnaround jumper for Georgia Tech. Mitchell made two free throws and Strothers made one free throw for Hampton, but Mitchell’s tip-in layup and Jordan’s dunk kept Georgia Tech in control. Strothers made one free throw, Tyler Jackson made a 3-pointer and Allen made two free throws for Georgia Tech. Strothers made two free throws and Allen made one free throw before Strothers made layups on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 60-44.

Georgia Tech responded with layups from Garland and Courtland Muldrew, a floating jumper from Craft and a free throw from Kirouac. Hampton got a final layup from Robinson, but the Yellow Jackets finished with the 20-point win.

Georgia Tech scored 75 points from 84 possessions, an offensive rating of 89.4. Hampton scored 55 points from 77 possessions, an offensive rating of 71.2. Hampton shot 17 of 61 from the floor, 4 of 20 from three-point range and 17 of 30 from the free throw line. Georgia Tech shot 28 of 67 from the floor, 4 of 28 from three-point range and 15 of 25 from the free throw line. Hampton had 9 offensive rebounds, 12 assists, 4 blocks, 11 turnovers and 19 fouls. Georgia Tech had 13 offensive rebounds, 6 assists, 7 blocks, 18 turnovers and 24 fouls.

Tylis Jordan of Georgia Tech, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward from Milledgeville, Georgia, who previously played at Wheeler, had 9 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 blocks in 31 minutes. Colby Garland, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound Georgia Tech guard who previously played at Maumelle, added 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 29 minutes. Cole Kirouac, a 7-foot Georgia Tech center who previously played at Overtime Elite, had 5 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 19 minutes. Etienne Strothers of Hampton, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound guard who previously played at Menchville, had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block in 22 minutes. Max Frazier of Hampton, a 6-foot-9 forward who previously played at Northwood, had 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block in 34 minutes.

Nehemiah Lawrence of Hampton, a 5-foot-5, 150-pound guard who previously played at Allen High School, had 10 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists in 27 minutes. Jackson Fields of Georgia Tech, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward who previously played at Lawrence E. Elkins High School, had 10 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes. Kam Craft of Georgia Tech, a 6-foot-6 guard who previously played at The Skill Factory, had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 minutes. Jayme Mitchell of Hampton, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard who previously played at Forest Hill High School, had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block in 24 minutes. Kayden Allen of Georgia Tech, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard who previously played at Long Island Lutheran Middle-High School, had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 11 minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Georgia Tech 79, Hampton 75. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Georgia Tech with an 83.3 percent probability to win. Georgia Tech had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-14.5. The total score of 130 went over the over-under line of 149.