Oregon Squeaks By Georgia Tech

A.D. Smith's free throws with 1:19 to play gave Oregon the lead for good, and the Ducks held on to beat Georgia Tech 67-64 Wednesday night in a first-round game of the NIT.

Terik Brown's free throws with 13.3 seconds left sealed it for the Ducks, who won their first postseason game since 1988.

"Terik really stepped and hit those two, and I was really happy to get those two," Smith said. "Those are the types of shots you dream about for a long time, especially at that time during the game."

Oregon (17-11) will host Wyoming, which defeated Southern California 81-77 Wednesday night, in the second round Monday.

The Ducks weathered an off shooting night and a dominant performance by Alvin Jones, who led Georgia Tech (15-16) with 27 points and 11 rebounds and whose layup with 1:38 remaining gave the Yellow Jackets a 64-63 lead.

Moments later, Smith was fouled by Jason Collier. Smith's free throws put the Ducks ahead 65-64. On the next possession, Tech's T.J. Vines stumbled with the ball and was called for traveling.

Oregon couldn't capitalize on the turnover as Mike Carson missed on a 12-foot jumper. Tech grabbed the rebound, but Tony Atkins put up an errant shot driving to the basket, and Jones was unable tip in the rebound.

Brown grabbed the loose ball and was fouled with 13.3 seconds left. After his free throws, a 3-point try by Atkins bounced off the back of the rim as time expired.

"I thought Atkins had a pretty good look," Yellow Jackets coach Bobby Cremins said. "I knew that I had the timeout. I could have called it, but I decided to let him go."

Smith had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Scales had 16 points for the Ducks.

"It was a battle," Ducks coach Ernie Kent said. "(Tech) played so well. For a team that just traveled across the country and plaed at midnight their time, they bounced back really well."

Jason Floyd had 11 points and Collier had 13 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.

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