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Georgia Tech Basketball: Turnovers doom Jackets in loss to UVA

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Tech suffered their second loss in conference play on Thursday night, falling to the University of Virginia, 64-48.

The Georgia Tech men’s basketball team suffered their second loss in ACC play on Thursday night, losing 64 to 48 at the hands of the second-ranked Virginia Cavaliers. The Jackets who entered the game on a four-game winning streak, are now 10-8 on the season overall and 3-2 in conference play.

The Jackets would score the first points of the game, but once Virginia took a 4-2 lead, they would never look back, eventually leading to the Jackets 16-point loss.

The Jackets downfall on Thursday night was turnovers. After having four games of relatively clean play, Virginia’s top-ranked defense suffocated the Jackets throughout the game. Overall, the Jackets turned over the ball 18 times. Each Jacket that appeared in the game had at least one turnover, center Ben Lammers lead the team with five.

The Jackets caused Virginia to turnover the ball more than usual but still only forced nine turnovers. When it came to points off turnovers, Virginia scored 16 points on Tech’s 18 turnovers while the Jackets only had two points off turnovers. Ultimately, it was the difference in the game.

Only one Jacket had double-digit points on Thursday, that being senior guard Tadric Jackson. Jackson, who came off the bench, as usual, scored 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Freshman Corey Haywood II had a strong game, scoring nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, all coming from beyond the arch.

Josh Okogie only scored nine points against the Cavaliers, marking the first time this season that the sophomore failed to score double-digit points. He was averaging 18.8 points coming into the game.

Freshman guard De’Andre Hunter led all scorers for the game, scoring 17 points for the Cavaliers.

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The Jackets will have to move on from their loss to the Cavaliers as they get ready to take on the 15th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday. The Tar Heels will enter Saturday’s game with a 15-4 (4-2) record and in the midst of a three-game winning streak. The Tar Heels are the second of four straight games against currently ranked teams.