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Published Jan 27, 2024
Jackets falter early and late in a blowout 91-67 loss at Virginia Tech
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Kelly Quinlan  •  JacketsOnline
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BLACKSBURG, VA- Georgia Tech didn’t play great offensive basketball at Virginia Tech on Saturday night, but the defense is really what let the Jackets down. Three runs by the Hokies totaling a 31-0 advantage led to a 91-67 loss.

It was the eighth loss in the last nine for the Jackets and the seventh in eight ACC games. However, it was also the largest margin of victory for an ACC opponent under first-year coach Damon Stoudamire as well.

The Jackets shot just 37.9 percent for the game and 36.4 percent from three while the Hokies shot 55.2 percent and 12-27 from three (44.4 percent) and hit 15-17 from the line. Georgia Tech was 9-14 from the line.

Freshman Baye Ndongo led the Jackets with 16 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes including five offensive rebounds. He added two blocks as well.

Junior guard Miles Kelly after not scoring in the loss to Pittsburgh bounced back with 11 points in 26 minutes as he split time with Amaree Abram and Kyle Sturdivant at the guard spot.

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Senior guard Carter Murphy returned to play his first minutes since the Georgia game. He added six points in 11 minutes off the bench hitting 2-4 from three.

"I was happy for Carter. Carter, he will give us some lift. Even when we were going to Hawaii I wish he was there, he came in and hit a couple of shots. He can help us move forward," Stoudamire said.

The Hokies' two primary post players Lynn Kidd and Mylyjael Poteat combined for 36 points on 13-18 shooting in the post. Forward Robbie Beran added 14 points on 4-7 shooting. The trio combined to go 15-16 from the line as well.

"We thought we had a real advantage in the post. They are smaller than some other teams and #11 is going to be really good," Young said of the interior play. "Damon is doing a heckuva job with them, but we liked the matchups. I think we have a real advantage in the post. Throw the thing in there. I have great trust and faith in our team to make the right play."

Stoudamire said the defensive issues inside were a combination of issues from the guards to the post players.

"Our post guys got to be a bit more disciplined and when you are teaching, the one thing for me being here and these atmospheres rattles us. When the game gets fast we have to be better thinking. There were a couple of times the guards have to help the bigs and we have to be in a stance and anticipate what is next defensively. To be a good defensive player you have to anticipate what is next. It is a process unfortunately and sometimes the process is painful," Stoudamire said. "You've got 3/4, you've got to fight guys, you've got to push catch out, you've got to do different things. Tech's bigs played really well tonight and collectively we didn't do a good job on the defensive end."

Guard Sean Pedulla slammed Georgia Tech’s comeback bid late in the second half shut with a pair of threes when Tech cut the Hokies' lead to seven.

“It was a six-seven point game with six minutes left and I typically don’t call a timeout when teams make a stab there, that is part of the game. To their credit there were no looks of despair,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. ‘It was a really good night for all of them and MJ Collins was very good defensively and Hunter Cattoor was great on Miles Kelly. Sean Pedulla had a great game.”

The Jackets dug a strong hole after giving up a pair of 10-0 runs to the Hokies, but only trail 44-28 at the break thanks to some late threes by Carter Murphy and Miles Kelly late in the half. The Hokies shot 51.5 percent in the first half while the Jackets shot just 29.4 percent overall. The Jackets were outscored in the first half 22-10 in the paint.

GAME SUMMARY

Georgia Tech took an early lead, but the Hokies went on a 10-0 run to take a 12-5 lead and Stoudamire was forced to burn his first timeout as the Jackets were getting pushed around inside by Mylyjael Poteat. The Hokies extended their lead to 20-10 at the second media timeout with 10:41 remaining in the half as Tech failed to score for over two minutes. The Hokies used another 10-0 run to go up 25-10, before the Jackets responded. The Hokies pushed keeping a decent lead 34-18 with 5:36 remaining in the half leading to another Stoudamire timeout. Carter Murphy entered the game playing his first minutes since the UGA game. Three three-point baskets by Murphy and Miles Kelly trimmed the Hokies lead to 44-28 at the break.

The Jackets opened up the second half hitting 5-6 shots but the defense was still bad allowing the Hokies to maintain a 54-39 lead at the first media timeout with 15:55 remaining. Tech trailed 62-48 with 11:48 remaining as fouls started to pile up with five in the half by the second media timeout. The Jackets went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single digits, 62-53 via Sturdivant hitting a three and stealing a pass and dishing to George for two. Ndongo hit a basket to pull the Jackets within seven leading to a Mike Young timeout with 7:48 remaining thanks to the defense clamping down and not allowing a Hokie field goal for almost five straight minutes. Sean Pedulla hit back-to-back threes to extend the Hokies lead back out to double digits. Lynn Kidd picked up his fourth foul with 6:28 remaining. Cattoor hit a three to extend the run to 9-0 and the lead back to 16, 73-57 with 5:50 remaining. The lead was extended to 18 and the run 11-0 before Ndongo hit a free throw to make it 75-58. Robbie Beran hit a three to put the Hokies up 18 and put the Jackets away with 3:01 remaining.

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Georgia Tech hosts #3 North Carolina on Tuesday night at 7 pm at McCamish Pavilion.

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