Key Takeaways From Georgia Tech's 74-45 Win Over Bryant

1. Akai Fleming sets career high

Latest — Georgia Tech Guard Akai Fleming | Photo Via Georgia Tech Athletic

Fleming showcased what he can do and the impact he can have coming off the bench. It is something Georgia Tech has not had in quite a long time. Fleming got going early in the game with a corner three point shot which opened up the floor for him.

“When I hit, when I saw the first shot go in, you know, kind of lit up something in me. My thing is just being able to play both sides of the ball. So when I'm able to play on the defensive side, it helps me on the offensive side as well," said Fleming.

The flood gates were fully open from that point. Fleming finished with a career-high 14 points on 4-8 shooting and 2-3 from beyond the arc. He wasn't just good offensively, but played stellar defense and created pressure all night long. Fleming finished with two steals in the win. It feels like he is just getting started and could have a big impact on the Yellow Jackets.

2. Mouhamed Sylla makes more history

It is crazy to believe that two doubles-doubles hadn't happen before to start a person's career in the illustrious history of Georgia Tech hoops, but that record still standed heading into Friday night. Mouhamed Sylla broke that and set another recorded. In the win, he finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sylla also shut down the paint and recorded a career-high four blocks in the win. His ability to rotate and be a weakside defender impacted the game and didn't allow Bryant to get going at any points. As head coach Damon Stoudamire alluded to it wasn't even his best game which is scary for opponents moving forward.

"I'll say this I don't think he's played a game yet, you know so what does a game look like I don't know, but I haven't seen it yet, you know. But I think what happens with him is he becomes better with Baye, you know. So I'm excited to see them, you know, playing together. To have Baye out there talking to Mo and being able to get him to do some different things, and just I call it buddy ball, you know, just the whole buddy ball aspect of it on the offensive end and then on defensive end as well. So you know, Mo has become Mo. We expect nothing less than 10 rebounds a game and the points in terms of that, that's just going to come, you know, and the blocked shots, you know, he's getting better with that. You know, early on in a couple of the scrimmages that we had, he wasn't getting off the ball. He didn't see it as fast, but now you can tell he's releasing. He's going, he's getting shots, he's blocking shots at the top., I'm excited about him, you know, as we do move forward," said Stoudamire.

3. Georgia Tech gets great contribution from its bench

The Yellow Jackets got 25 points from their bench on Friday night. Fleming was the biggest contributor with 14 points. Kelley III, Davi Remagen, Peyton Marshall, and Eric Chatfield all made contributions off the bench. Georgia Tech had to run a lot of six and seven man lineups last year, but they now have a team they can run nine to 10 deep. They also don't have a dropoff when players off the bench come in on the other side of the ball. Usually, they would have a scorer in, but then the defense drops off. No, Georgia Tech has none of that this year, which is a great sign.

“Oh, man. Trust me, as a coach, it makes you feel good when you got depth cuz can't nobody hold you hostage. You know what I mean? You don't you don't have to give out free minutes, you know, is what I like to say, you know? First of all, we got a deep team, we got a competitive team, but they like each other. And so what I think, you know, we have is a good spirit in competition, you know, amongst the guys, cuz they're all going to play anyway," said Stoudamire. "It's the way I want to play. It's the style I want to play. You know, you're seeing multiple guys coming in and out. I think that, especially early on, it's big for us to know what we have. You know, because, you know, some situations are going to call for speciality situations. You might need a guy who can shoot. We might have to come off the bench with a Chatfield or somebody, but I mean, I just think that everybody has a presence and a role with this squad, and I love the depth that we have.”

4. Georgia Tech on ball defense is really good

You can tell the Yellow Jackets have improved immensely. Georgia Tech was picking up 94 feet and was active all night. Bryant struggled mightily to find quality looks and shot just 25% in the loss. It was a total buy in from the guards on the perimeter to the bigs on the interior. Another great stat that illustrates this is the number of steals Georgia Tech had. The Yellow Jackets finished with 13 steals in the win. Chas Kelley III led the Yellow Jackets with three steals on defense. It was a collective effort, but it was the total team that made the difference. When you have that mentality on the defensive side of the ball, it doesn't matter how your offense is playing. You are in any game.

“I think we had the personnel to match that type of intensity to be honest with you. And coach, I think he identified that. I think that's how he recruited. Um, and we've been doing that ever since we started summer workouts to be honest with you. That’s the thing he’s been demanding of us. So, when we get in the game, it's kind of second nature. We just know that's how we're going to play defense," said Kowacie Reeves.

5. Georgia Tech shot the ball well

Georgia Tech shot 46% from the field an improvement from a few nights before agaisnt MD Eastern where they only scored 56 points. Georgia Tech started the second half on fire for the first six minutes going 7-9 and 2-2 from three point range. Kowacie Reeves has a good game scoring 18 points on 7-13 shooting. Sylla has 10 points of 5-9 shooting. The biggest difference was from beyond the arc. Georgia Tech nailed 10 threes of the 23 that they took on Friday night. The shot 43.5% from three point range. If they can hit 10 threes or more a game, it makes the offense dangerous and will up up the interior for Sylla, Peyton Marshall, and Baye Ndongo to dominate. It is just one game, but it was nice to see the Yellow Jackets be able to score the ball at a high level and do it efficiently.

"I was just proud of the guys, and you know I always say this is a make-or-miss game. Made five threes last game, we made 10 in this game, and so it just changed the complexion of it. I was just proud, you know, I was proud.

More Georgia Tech Basketball News:

•Why Mouhamed Sylla Could Be A Game Changer For The Yellow Jackets

•Everything From Mouhamed Sylla and Kowacie Reeves After Win Over MD Eastern Shore

•Everything From Head Coach Damon Stoudamire After A 56-52 Win Over MD Eastern

•Biggest Takeaways From Georgia Tech's 56-52 Win Over MD Eastern Shore

•Georgia Tech vs MD Eastern Live Updates | NCAA Basketball