Victories over UGA are worth celebrating

ATLANTA (AP) -- Jarrett Jack was nearly perfect. His Georgia Tech teammates weren't too bad, either.

Jack didn't miss a shot while scoring 18 points as the fourth-ranked Yellow Jackets romped to another easy victory, this time beating Georgia 87-49 on Sunday night.

The Yellow Jackets (5-0) followed up a 31-point rout of Michigan with an even bigger victory over their state rival. Once again, Jack led the way.

He was 7-of-7 from the field, including three from outside the 3-point arc. He also made his only free throw, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists and came up with a steal. The lone blemish on his stat line -- one turnover.

Against Michigan, Jack had 11 assists and no turnovers.

"I know it's early, but I don't think I've ever been around a guy who has played at such a high level from the first day of practice," coach Paul Hewitt said. "He's been playing unbelievable basketball, and I just hope it continues."

It may be early, but it's already apparent this will be a very long season for Georgia (1-3). The Bulldogs kept it close for about 10 minutes, only to have the Yellow Jackets methodically pull away for a 43-30 halftime lead.

Things really got out of hand over the final 20 minutes. Georgia Tech opened the second half with a 12-0 run, the Bulldogs missing their first seven shots on the way to shooting just 33 percent.

It was Georgia's worst loss ever to the Yellow Jackets, eclipsing a 33-point blowout in 1966.

"In the second half, Tech just ran away from us," Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. "Obviously, they are a powerful team, and the game simply got away from us."

Isma'il Muhammad's basket made it a 20-point game barely two minutes into the half. Ra'Sean Dickey made two free throws for a 30-point lead with nearly 12 minutes remaining. Zam Fredrick swished a 3-pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a 40-point cushion with five minutes to go.

At that point, Georgia Tech already had pulled out the starters, letting its younger players finish the game.

"In the second half, we stepped it up defensively," Hewitt said. "When you do a good job defensively, the offense comes easy for you."

The only drama occurred early in the second half. Jack scored on a nifty drive to make it 59-32, prompting Georgia to call a timeout. As the players headed to the bench, Jack got into it with Steve Newman, leading to a brief scuffle at midcourt.

The teams were quickly separated, Jack and Newman were given offsetting technicals and there were no further problems.

"It's an emotional game," Jack said. "Tempers flared a little bit, but there are no hard feelings."

B.J. Elder scored 19 points to lead five Georgia Tech players in double figures. The Yellow Jackets shot nearly 54 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 44-25.

Luke Schenscher, Muhammad and Dickey all had 12 points, with Schenscher pulling down 14 rebounds.

Levi Stukes led Georgia with 17 points.

Georgia Tech has won its first five games by an average of 26 points. The Jackets' only scare was a 60-59 victory at Illinois-Chicago, their lone road game.

Georgia's woes were epitomized by its freshman center, Dave Bliss. He picked up two fouls in the first 43 seconds, sending him to the bench for the rest of the first half.

He started the second half but quickly picked up his third foul. After another stint out of the game, he fouled out with two more whistles in succession. Bliss was done with 11:06 left, having played just 3½ minutes.

"Georgia Tech is one of the top teams in the country," Bliss said. "Now we know how hard we'll have to work when we start playing in the SEC."

The Yellow Jackets were eager to avenge one of the most disappointing losses of their Final Four year. After opening last season with 12 straight victories, they lost 83-80 at Georgia in overtime.

"We were definitely thinking about last year," Muhammad said. "We still had a bitter taste in our mouth about that one."

The Bulldogs lost four key players from that team and are in the beginning stages of a major rebuilding job. Georgia has only seven scholarship players and is forced to rely on several walk-ons who made the team during open tryouts before the season.

"We're progressing," freshman Sundiata Gaines said. "Even though we lost by whatever the score was, we played hard."