Georgia Tech Basketball downs Notre Dame 60-53 at Thrillerdome
After the end of 2017 left the Yellow Jackets with little more than a handful of embarrassing losses, 2018 Tech seems like a different team.
Georgia Tech (9-7, 2-1 ACC) has now won three straight, including two conference games, and took full advantage of a undermanned Fighting Irish squad Wednesday night 60-53 in Atlanta.
After falling 68-59 in South Bend to open conference play back on December 30, this year’s Jackets seem to have caught fire, beating No. 15 Miami, Yale and evening things up with the Irish.
The Jackets saw seven players score Wednesday night, including double-digit efforts from three Tech players.
Leading all scorers in the game was a 17-point performance from guard Josh Okogie. He also had four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 39 minutes of play.
The transition game for @GTMBB was STRONG on their way to a 60-53 victory over Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/9vGLcdcmFW
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) January 11, 2018
Tadric Jackson had 11 points and nine rebounds on he night, followed by a double-double from Ben Lammers with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“Everyone is starting to realize their role,” Lammers said after the game. “We’ve done a good job with that and found success”
Georgia Tech rarely trailed in the game, leading 30-20 at the half and survived a 33-30 second half that saw the Fighting Irish make it appear closer in the end than it ever really was.
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The Irish shot an abysmal 0-for-9 on three point attempts in the first half, but hit four in the same number of tries in the second. Josh Pasnter’s squad went 5-for12 from beyond the arc, held Notre Dame to just under 36 percent from the field and out-rebounded their guests 39-33.
With the Yellow Jackets playing a pretty statistically even game between the two halves, the Irish couldn’t ever seem to catch up for any meaningful amount of time against Tech’s stifling defense.
Tech survived losing the turnover battle 11-10 to Notre Dame, but racked up 36 points in the paint versus only 28 from the road team. The Jackets also won 14-10 on second chance points and won 15-4 on fast breaks.
Prior to the game, the program made strong push for a large crowd to be present and engaged at the game and the effort seemed to pay off. “That was a great crowd,” Josh Pasnter said. “We had great energy in the building.”
Next: A look back at the South’s first national title
The Yellow Jackets get back to action with another conference matchup at Pittsburgh on Saturday at 2 p.m.