ATLANTA (Interstat) — Georgia Tech defeated Georgia Southern 95-83 on Friday at Hank McCamish Pavilion, moving to 2-0 while dropping the Eagles to 1-1. Nasir Whitlock led the Yellow Jackets with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes. Georgia Southern scored 38 points in the first half and 45 after halftime, while Georgia Tech scored 44 in the first half and 51 in the second. Attendance was 5,214. Georgia Tech previously beat Hampton 75-55, and Georgia Southern previously beat Ball State 67-55. The game was a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game.

Georgia Tech shot 25 of 49 from the floor, 9 of 18 from 3-point range and 36 of 47 from the free-throw line. Georgia Southern shot 28 of 73 overall, 10 of 36 from beyond the arc and 17 of 32 at the line. The Yellow Jackets committed 15 turnovers and 25 fouls. The Eagles committed 12 turnovers and 30 fouls. Georgia Southern held a 20-9 edge in offensive rebounds and a 7-5 edge in assists. Both teams had two blocks. Georgia Southern scored 83 points from 80 possessions, an offensive rating of 103.5. Georgia Tech scored 95 points from 77 possessions, an offensive rating of 122.9. Georgia Tech made 36 free throws, and Georgia Southern made 17.

Whitlock, a 6-foot-2, 184-pound guard from Brooklyn Park, Minn., who previously attended DeLaSalle, scored from the perimeter and at the line while helping Georgia Tech answer each Georgia Southern run. Colby Garland, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard formerly of Maumelle, added 11 points, three rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes. Tylis Jordan, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward formerly of Wheeler, had 11 points and four rebounds in 23 minutes. Kam Craft, a 6-foot-6 guard formerly of The Skill Factory, finished with 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 22 minutes. Ilja Kurucs, a 6-foot-10 forward formerly of International School, added six points and three rebounds in 13 minutes. Jackson McVey, a 7-foot-1 center formerly of Overtime Elite, had six points, three rebounds and one assist in 10 minutes. Kayden Allen, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard formerly of Long Island Lutheran Middle-High, contributed eight points and two rebounds in 11 minutes.

Georgia Southern’s Eltramon Smith, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward formerly of Spire Academy, posted 20 points, six rebounds, one assist and one block in 30 minutes. Truman Claytor, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward formerly of New Life Christian Academy & Prep, scored 24 points and added six rebounds and one assist in 37 minutes. Dallas Gardner, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard formerly of Charlotte Country Day, recorded 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. The Eagles stayed within striking distance through the first half and early in the second half, but Georgia Tech’s free-throw shooting and Whitlock’s shot-making kept the visitors from completing a comeback. Georgia Southern’s Josh Dixon also hit a 3-pointer and later made a pullup jumper in the first half.

Georgia Tech opened with early 3-pointers from Craft and Whitlock and built a 12-4 lead after Craft’s 3-pointer with 17:26 left in the first half. Craft made a 3-pointer at 19:38, another at 18:24, and Whitlock made a 3-pointer at 17:47. Georgia Southern responded with 3-pointers from Claytor, Smith and Dixon, and the Eagles remained active on the offensive glass. Smith made a tip-in layup with 5:13 left in the first half, then hit a 3-pointer with 4:48 remaining. Tylis Jordan made a dunk at 13:49, and Kayden Allen made layups at 9:54 and 9:31. Claytor made two free throws with 2:42 left, and Dixon made a pullup jumper with 1:20 remaining. Georgia Tech held a 44-38 halftime lead.

The Yellow Jackets then scored 51 points after halftime, while Georgia Southern scored 45. Georgia Tech stretched its lead early in the second half on Tylis Jordan’s two free throws with 19:49 remaining, Jordan’s driving layup at 19:28 and Kam Craft’s driving layup at 18:52. Georgia Southern answered with Eltramon Smith’s driving layup at 18:08 and dunk at 17:52 and Truman Claytor’s jumper off a turnover at 16:47. Whitlock made a jump shot at 16:30 and two free throws at 16:16, and Josh Dixon hit a 3-pointer with 15:06 left to keep Georgia Southern within eight. Colby Garland made a layup at 17:27 and later free throws, while Jackson Fields added a layup at 14:38 and a free throw at 11:34. Ilja Kurucs made a dunk at 12:21 and a layup with 4:00 left. Georgia Southern’s Jeromy Davis made a jumper at 11:58 and a tip-in dunk at 10:12. Gardner made a layup at 8:46 and Claytor made a driving layup at 8:31.

The decisive stretch came after Georgia Southern pulled within 74-69 on Gardner’s free throw with 8:27 remaining. Whitlock answered with a 3-pointer at 8:15 to push the lead to 77-69, then made two free throws at 7:40. Another Whitlock 3-pointer with 6:35 left made it 82-71. Georgia Southern cut the deficit to 87-78 on Jeromy Davis’ free throw with 2:40 remaining, but Georgia Tech closed the game at the line. Tylis Jordan made two free throws with 2:01 left, and Colby Garland made two free throws with 54.9 seconds left and two more with 28.1 seconds remaining to finish the scoring. Georgia Southern’s final point came on Gardner’s free throw with 39.9 seconds left. Georgia Southern next hosts Mercer, while Georgia Tech next hosts Eastern Kentucky.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Georgia Southern 76, Georgia Tech 71. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Georgia Tech with a 62.7 percent probability to win. Georgia Tech had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -18.5. The total score of 178 went under the over/under line of 159.