Georgia Tech’s psyche will be under the microscope after this latest loss. The Yellow Jackets (9-7, 0-4 ACC ) in a tale of two halves, let this game slip away falling to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-2, 4-1 ACC) 62-59 at McCamish Pavilion.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Notre Dame center Zach Auguste was unavailable because of academic suspension. This allowed Georgia Tech to punish the Irish early and often in the paint.
Georgia Tech was able to penetrate the lane as well as get the ball inside to Mitchell and Cox. Tech had a 22-12 scoring edge in the paint.
Demarco Cox had 10 first half points. Chris Bolden came off the bench lighting it up from the outside scoring 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the field and 3 of 3 from deep.
Robert Sampson also came off the bench strong with six points on 3 of 4 from the field.
They were truly representative of the hot shooting that the Yellow Jackets exhibited overall in the first half, hitting 56% of their shots.
The big thing is that Tech managed to hold Jerian Grant to only two points, and the Yellow Jackets defense as a whole held Notre Dame to 42.9% shooting for the half.
The Jackets also enjoyed a 16-6 rebounding edge. All of that culminated into a 38-30 lead going into the locker room for their effort.
Notre Dame came out hot in the second half with a 14-5 run to take a 44-43 lead. Georgia Tech could not mount a response for the run to regain control.
All of a sudden deja vu hit the Yellow Jackets. The same thing that happened against Syracuse happened against Notre Dame. The scoring drought came and cost the Jackets.
Jan 14, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets center Demarco Cox (4) drives against Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Demetrius Jackson (11) and forward Bonzie Colson (35) in the first half of their game at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
For the second half Georgia Tech only shot 6 of 23 from the field. They had a scoring drought that lasted over eight minutes which came after a Corey Heyward three-pointer.
Notre Dame was able to do what winning basketball teams do. They executed when they needed buckets the most. Steve Vasturia’s three-point play in the closing seconds sealed the deal, and the Georgia Tech fans were left scratching their heads again.
How is it that the Yellow Jackets can have a clear advantage on the court and still let it slip away? Maybe it is because the Jackets don’t have that one thing that they can lean on as a momentum breaker for their opponents.
Demarco Cox had 17 points and seven rebounds for the game while Chris Bolden finished with 13 points after an 11 point first half.
Marques Georges-Hunt finished with six points shooting 0 of 6 from the field, and Robert Sampson finished with eight points and six rebounds.
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The Irish shot 7 of 17 from beyond the arc and 43.5% for the game. Jerian Grant finished with 12 points to lead five Notre Dame players in double-figures.
Now the Yellow Jackets are sitting at 0-4 with two tough road games coming up. They need to keep their heads in the game.
The way they are losing is tough because they are having scoring lapses. They are going to have to find something or someone they can lean on during those times to snap this losing skid.
Next up for the Jackets is a road tilt against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday. Hopefully the road trip can help the Yellow Jackets get back on track.