GAME NOTES: Pitted against each other for the first time ever, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Rhode Island Rams get together in the championship round of the ninth annual Orlando Classic on Sunday.

The Rams, winners of three straight out of the gate this season, including an upset victory over nationally-ranked Nebraska (66-62) in overtime last weekend, bounced back from a 76-60 loss to 11th-ranked Kansas three days ago by crushing Santa Clara in the most recent round of this tournament on Friday by a score of 66-44.

As for the Yellow Jackets, they too are 4-1 to open the 2014-15 campaign. They began the season with three consecutive victories as well before taking a tumble against Marquette in the first game of this event, 72-70. Then a day later, the squad rebounded with a 61-54 triumph against Rider.

The Rams took out some frustrations on Santa Clara a few days back as URI knocked down 53.2 percent from the field and produced a 31-17 rebounding edge in order to offset 15 turnovers in what turned into a lopsided event. E.C. Matthews scored a game-high 19 points as he knocked down 5-of-7 shots behind the 3-point line, followed by Jared Terrell with 13 points, although the pair also combined to suffer seven miscues along the way.

Through five games, Matthews comes out on top of the scoring list for the Rams with his 17.6 ppg, but again his sloppiness with the ball (20 turnovers) takes some of the luster off his positive contributions. Hassan Martin checks in with another 11.4 ppg and is one of the better rebounders for the group with 6.8 rpg, trailing only Gilvydas Biruta (10.6 ppg) who is bringing down an even 7.0 rpg at the moment for a unit that is beating the competition by 10.4 rpg and is holding those foes to 58.4 ppg.

Shooting only 37.9 percent from the field and 2-of-15 behind the 3-point line, the Yellow Jackets still found a way to mount and offensive effort against Rider that turned into a seven-point victory on Friday. Charles Mitchell was the star of the show for Georgia Tech as he registered a double-double consisting of 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Demarco Cox nearly pulled off a double-double of his own with 10 points and eight boards. Although he shot just 2-of-8 from the field, Marcus Georges-Hunt finished with 10 points as well.

Over the course of five games, the Yellow Jackets have had four different leading scorers, which tells of their flexibility in the early going. On a squad generating 71.0 ppg, there are four players scoring in double figures, although no one is putting up more than Mitchell at 12.0 ppg. Smart enough to know where he can be most productive, Mitchell has taken his game inside in order to pull 9.4 rpg and has refrained from taking even a single shot from behind the 3-point line.

Both sides certainly have talent that can win ball games, but if the mistakes are not cut down by Rhode Island it may not survive this meeting no matter how well it spreads the wealth.