Georgia Tech defeats Virginia Tech basketball 71-64.
In Wednesday’s 71-64 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, the Virginia Tech Hokies made good 3-pointers, but inside the 3-point line was a different story. Continuing the recent trend of playing a close game throughout but losing in the end, the Yellow Jackets led 39-35 at halftime, but the two teams traded leads several times over the first eight minutes of the second half, with a Rodney Brown jumper with 12:48 left tying the game at 47. After that, Georgia Tech never fell behind.
At 12:33, Georgia Tech forward Baye Ndongo hit a basket to give the Jackets a 49-47 advantage. With just over six minutes remaining, VT junior forward Tobi Lawal made a 3-pointer to cut Georgia Tech’s advantage to two points. It was 61-57 after Duncan Powell made two free throws, and it was 61-60 after Hokie sophomore guard Jaden Schutt converted a three-pointer. Brandon Rechsteiner made a 3-pointer for the Jackets, bringing the score to 64-62.
The next seven points were scored by the Yellow Jackets to overcome the Hokies and secure a much-needed conference victory.
For VT, turnovers were a problem once more. The Hokies made 17 mistakes. The Yellow Jackets were able to shoot 47% from the field thanks to Virginia Tech’s defense. Despite outscoring Georgia Tech 39-29, the Hokies only made 37% of their shots from the field. The Hokies only made 11 of 33 3-point attempts from within the arc, but they made 11 of 26 shots from beyond the arc. In ACC play, the Hokies drop to 8-11 and 3-5. The Hokies’ next game is a return trip to Blacksburg against the scorching Clemson Tigers (16-4, 8-1). At Cassell Coliseum, the game will tip at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.