The Orange clawed their way to a 62-55 victory over Georgia Tech, finally breaking into the ACC win column in their fourth conference game.

Here are takeaways from the night.

Lucas Taylor has played much better in the last five games, earning the greater share of minutes he has seen. In those five outings, he is averaging 10.2 points per game and shooting 19-of-36 (52.8 percent) overall and 12-of-24 (50.0 percent) from 3-point range, a sharp improvement from his 2.9 points per game in the first ten on shooting marks of 25.6 percent overall and 7.7 percent from long range.

When combined with his nuisance-grade defense, he should remain in the starting lineup until further notice. Even if things go sideways for SU and Adrian Autry switches his goal toward future development, Taylor should still see substantial minutes for his effort and defensive accountability as examples.

Chris Bell made his first three shots of the game, then missed six in a row. Shooters shoot, though, and Bell connected on two of his last four shots in the closing minutes, then a pair of foul shots to ice the win.

If Donnie Freeman’s injury keeps him on the shelf for longer, the Orange will need to be judicious in shot selection because their offensive rebounding could take a major hit without the long, bouncy freshman. They were able to grab just two offensive rebounds in the first half against the Yellow Jackets before a much more successful second session where they secured 11. Rushed shots and attempts with little chance for success in the mid-range or 3’s from sub-par shooters will risk becoming similar to turnovers.

Elijah Moore’s cold streak is still alive. The freshman has missed his last ten shots spread over four games, including eight 3-point shots. His struggles on the offensive end have not tanked him, however, as Moore was emotionally involved in the game early, roaring his approval as he and Eddie Lampkin finished forcing an early shot clock violation by Georgia Tech.

It’s not easy to be consistent when you are at a physical disadvantage, such as the height disadvantage Jyare Davis frequently deals with. There needs to be a path toward getting there, though, as Davis has shown the ability to succeed against major conference foes. Ten of Davis’ 15 games have seen him finish with at least seven points and he has at least five rebounds in eight of them, including Tuesday’s eight-point, nine-rebound effort against the Yellow Jackets. More puzzling is the other five games where he has totaled three points and 14 rebounds.

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