The Wonder Boys started their postseason campaign Friday night with a win over West Georgia in the opening round of the GSC Tournament, despite playing without one of their all-conference performers.

Senior guard Marcus Pillow earned the start in place of Laithe Massey, who injured his ankle in practice on Wednesday. Pillow would not dissapoint, scoring the first eight points of the game for either team and finishing with 16 points and five rebounds, both season highs.

"I knew I had to fill some big shoes tonight," said Pillow. "With Laithe being out I knew I had to do a couple of extra things. I felt like I could come in and just produce."

The Wonder Boys started the game on a 10-0 run behind Pillow's strong shooting and a stout defensive effort. Tech held the Wolves scoreless for nearly five minutes to start the game, pulling out to an early 23-4 lead, but the Wolves would fight back. Three straight 3-pointers by Vojin Svilar helped spark West Georgia as the Wolves managed to cut the Tech lead to 33-25 at the 4:23 mark. However, Tech would extend its advantage to 15 points by the end of the first half, leading 42-17.

The Wolves would manage to cut their deficit to single digits again in the second half behind a strong defensive effort, before an offensive explosion by the Wonder Boys put the game away. Tech led by as much as 25 in the second half at the 4:52, going on to win by a final score of 79-60.

Brandon Friedel led all scorers with 24 points and also finished with four assists. Renard Allen added another 13 points and six boards for the Wonder Boys, while Irvin Humphrey chipped in four points and nine rebounds.

Svilar led the Wolves with 18 points, while John Pringle turned in a double-double performance with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

The win advances Tech to the semifinals to take on nationally seventh-ranked Valdosta State on Saturday. The Blazers blew past Arkansas-Monticello 73-61 in the opening round. Last year the Wonder Boys defeated Valdosta State 79-66 to capture their first-ever GSC championship. The semifinal showdown tips off at 5:30 on Saturday.