DULUTH — Brandon Reed had 16 points and Georgia Tech overcame the suspension of its leading returning scorer to beat Florida A&M 92-59 on Friday night in Brian Gregory's first game as the Yellow Jackets' coach.
Georgia Tech announced less than an hour before the game that junior Glen Rice Jr. was suspended for the season's first three games for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
Mfon Udofia had 15 points and Daniel Miller had 12 points and seven rebounds for Georgia Tech, which never trailed.
Avery Moore led Florida A&M with 15 points.
Clemon Johnson also made his debut as Florida A&M's coach.
Rice, the son of the former Michigan and 15-year NBA star Glen Rice, started 23 games last season, averaging 12.8 points. Rice was not in uniform as he watched from the bench.
Rice had six games with 20 or more points last season. Gregory, the former Dayton coach, had not announced if Rice would have started against Florida A&M.
The elder Rice played on Michigan's 1989 national championship team and the Los Angeles Lakers' 2000 NBA championship team.
Reed, a transfer from Arkansas State who sat out last season, joined Udofia and Jason Morris in Gregory's three-guard lineup. Kammeon Holsey and Miller, a 6-foot-11 sophomore center, completed Gregory's first starting lineup.
Georgia Tech led only 30-25 late in the first half before entering the break with a 13-4 run. Udofia had two 3-pointers and a fast-break basket during the run.
The Yellow Jackets kept their lead in double figures the remainder of the game.
Freshman Julian Royal had 10 points to give Georgia Tech four scorers in double figures.
D'Andre Bullard and Yannick Crowder each had 8 points for Florida A&M. Crowder and Jeremy Dean, who had 7 points, fouled out.