Devoe dominates final minutes as Jackets beat Wake Forest

Winston-Salem, NC - Michael Devoe scored 24 points and backcourt mate Jose Alvarado added 22 to lead Georgia Tech to an 86-79 road victory over Wake Forest on Wednesday night.
Devoe, who missed the final three minutes of the opening round after tweaking his knee, scored 16 in the second half as the Yellow Jackets (13-13, 7-8 ACC) rebounded after squandering a 13-point first-half lead. Devoe and Alvarado were effective driving to the basket, resulting in several Tech dunks and layups. Moses Wright added 14 points and Jordan Usher had 10 for the Jackets.

Brandon Childress and freshman reserve Jahcobi Neath each scored 16 to lead the Demon Deacons (11-15, 4-12), who are a half-game ahead of last-place North Carolina. Both teams were effective getting high-percentage shots. Tech shot 52% to Wake's 49%. Tech scored nine straight points en route to a 16-3 run to race out to a 13-point lead late in the first half. But Wake used a 7-2 run to pull within 37-29 at halftime. The Deacons reeled off nine straight points to start the second half and grab the lead. But a pair of dunks by Evan Cole and another by Moses Wright helped the Jackets take a 46-40 lead with 14:06 left.

Wake tied the game four times down the stretch. But Devoe was dominant in the final minutes. His driving scoop shot with 2:46 left gave Tech a 74-69 lead. A dunk by Cole expanded the lead to six with 2:09 to play. the Deacons made one final run when Isaiah Mucius drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 78-74 with 55 seconds left. Leading 81-75, the Jackets sealed the victory with Cole's steal with 32 seconds to play.