Tech loses pair of conference games

In a year in which the Jackets return no starters, lost six players who accounted for every start in 2005 and lost almost 80 percent of their scoring from 2005, this season looked to be a rebuilding year with a young team full of freshman and sophomores. With youth comes inconsistency, as displayed by the 22-point loss at home to a mediocre University of Illinois-Chicago team. Also, Tech lost by only two points to a top ten Michigan State on the road. Even with the up and down season, the Jackets held a respectable record of 8-4 going into the new semester after they upset No. 11 Boston College here on campus.

At times scoring has not been an issue for this young team. They lit up the scoreboard for a season high 92 points against Jacksonville and poured in 86 points against Michigan State on the road. But the iron has also been unkind as the Jackets mustered up a season-low 46 points at Air Force.

Without the services of Theodis Tarver, who was deemed academically ineligible by Institute standards, the Jackets traveled to Tarver's home state of Louisiana last week to take on Centenary in Bossier City, Louisiana. Tech had no trouble putting away Centenary, 85-69, led by sophomore forward Jeremis Smith who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the contest. With the absence of Tarver, Ra'Sean Dickey, who had been struggling during the past few games, stepped up to contribute 19 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Zam Frederick had his best performance of the season, as he poured in 18 points including shooting 3-4 from long range.

Tech jumped out to an early 12-0 lead to start the game with the help of three-pointers from Frederick and Anthony Morrow. The Jackets led by as many as 21 points in the first half as they led 52-35 at the half. Centenary made it close in the second half at 67-61, but that would be as close as it came because Tech finished the game on a 18-8 run.

The Jackets continued their road trip as they visited the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the Wolfpack last Saturday afternoon and welcomed back senior Theodis Tarver, after the appeals committee overturned Tarver's ineligibility

Tech came out flat as the Wolfpack jumped out to an early 11-2 lead. Head Coach Paul Hewitt took a 30-second time out to gather the troops and motivate the team to improve their play. It seemed to have worked as the Jackets made a run, and ended the first half with a 41-40 lead.

However, deja vu would strike again as the Wolfpack started the second half on another 11-2 run and reclaimed the lead at 51-43. Tech did battle back and put together a 10-0 run of their own to tie the game 53-53. In the end, however, N.C. State's perimeter shooting was too much for Tech as the Jackets fell 87-78, dropping their first ACC game of the season.

On Wednesday night, the Jackets continued their ACC road trip as they took on the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. For the second game in a row, Tech came out flat, and Wake Forest took control of the game early. The only lead the Jackets had all night was when D'Andre Bell scored the first points of the game to give the Jackets the 2-0 lead. The Deacons led by as many as 27 points in the second half and were well on their way to a rout of the Jackets.

A combination of intense defense and sharp shooting helped cut the lead to eight points with less than four minutes to go. The hill was too steep to climb, however, as that was as close as the Jackets would get in an 86-71 loss.

Morrow led all scorers in the game with a career-high 29 points, including 7-7 from the charity stripe. Clinch scored in double figures for a second straight game, tying his career-high of 14 points, which was set in the previous game against N.C. State. Jeremis Smith recorded his sixth double-double of the season scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for Tech.

Tech's drops to 9-6 on the season, and the team is 2-2 in ACC play.