Georgia Tech handles D-I newcomer West Georgia in opener

Javian McCollum scored a game-high 18 points, helping lead Georgia Tech to an 85-62 win over West Georgia on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 15 points for the Yellow Jackets, who won their third straight season opener. Baye Ndongo chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds while Luke O'Brien had eight points and 10 rebounds for Georgia Tech, which shot 48.5 percent from the field and held the Wolves to 35.9 percent shooting.

Playing in its second game as a Division I school, West Georgia (0-2) was led by Shelton Williams-Dryden's 13 points. Kolten Griffin added 11 points for the Wolves, and Rickey Ballard contributed eight points off the bench.

Georgia Tech started quickly, jumping out to an 11-2 lead on Reeves' dunk mark. After a 5-0 West Georgia run cut the deficit to 11-7, O'Brien's mid-range jumper followed by McCollum's triple and Lance Terry's dunk extended the Yellow Jackets' lead to 18-7 with 12:29 left in the first half.

The hosts continued to add to their margin when O'Brien's layup capped a 6-0 scoring run with 3:50 remaining for a 39-20 edge.

Williams-Dryden scored on consecutive West Georgia possessions in the final minute of the first half, but Georgia Tech held a 50-29 lead at the break. Reeves led the Yellow Jackets with 11 first-half points, while Williams-Dryden paced the Wolves with seven.

McCollum opened the second half with a 3-pointer, before a 6-2 West Georgia spurt cut the gap to 55-35 with 17:10 left.

The Yellow Jackets then saw their advantage balloon to 30 after Ndongo, Reeves and Duncan Powell each scored inside baskets. After Tauris Watson's 3-pointer cut the Georgia Tech lead to 77-52 at the 8:52 mark, neither team connected on a field goal until Ballard's triple with 4:27 left trimmed the Wolves' deficit to 24.

Georgia Tech was held without a field goal for 8:12 until Powell's 3-pointer with 1:01 left.

--Field Level Media