WINSTON-SALEM, NC- Road wins are hard in the ACC and Georgia Tech fell 71-70 at Wake Forest in a game where the officiating had a major impact on the outcome of the game with several late lead changes and bizarre calls down the stretch.

Tech led the game by five with 2:07 to go behind a jumper by Deivon Smith and a three by Deebo Coleman. Tyree Appleby hit a jumper with 1:48 left to make it a one-score game. Tech failed to convert on an inbounds play where Kyle Sturdivant appeared to be fouled and Andrew Carr appeared to travel after stealing the ball. Instead, Tech was called for a foul and Carr hit both to make it 68-67 Wake. Appleby then hit a layup to make it 69-68 Wake, but Smith drove the length of the court in seven seconds and hit a layup to put Tech up 70-69. Appleby got to the free line and hit the two game-winning free throws and the refs did not call a foul on Wake when they held Ja'von Franklin on the final play with 2.3 left.

"We had a shot to win the game and it could've gone either way and unfortunately the ball didn't bounce our way," Tech head coach Josh Pastner said after the game. "I'm really proud of our guys. I thought we did a great job defensively. Wake Forest is one of the best offensive teams in the country and the best numbers-wise in the ACC and we held them to 44% from the field and 27% from three. I thought we had the game, but that is the way the ball bounces."

Wake got the free throw line 24 times in the game compared to just eight for the Yellow Jackets. Pastner declined to address the officiating issues in the game citing a memo ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips sent to ACC men's and women's basketball coaches and administrators this week.

"Commissioner Phillips sent an email to all the ACC men's and women's coaches and athletic directors this week about sportsmanship and any comments on officiating so out of respect for Commissioner Phillips I will not say anything because I have tremendous respect for Commissioner Phillips and I want to follow his directives."

Pastner repeated this line multiple times in his presser to drive home the point of his frustration with the officiating.

Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes got emotional talking about how impressed he was with Tech's performance in the game.

"It was a tough loss for them, they played their guts out," Forbes said. "Tech has gotten better and they've gone smaller and faster. They made timely shots and then got offensive rebounds. Duke and Carolina are a lot bigger than them and they outrebounded them against us, Josh does a great job and he is fighting. Those kids are playing really hard and they are hard to play. We guard and guard them and then they make a tough three, we just found a way to win. They beat Notre Dame and they gave NC State a scare, they are getting better, you are either getting better or worse, they are getting better."

Ja’von Franklin led the way for the Jackets with 14 points, 15 rebounds (eight offensive), two steals and two assists in 37 minutes.

Franklin added that he was fouled on the final play of the game on a length of the court toss, but there was no whistle on Andrew Carr.

"I felt like it was a foul because when I went to catch the ball, he was leaning on my shoulder and I fell," Franklin explained. "I guess the ref didn't see it and it was a bad non-whistle. I really don't know how they call it."

Forbes and his players were frustrated dealing with Franklin on the glass throughout the game despite having a size advantage inside.

“We were not going to outjump Ja’von Franklin, but I think we didn’t give up an offensive rebound late to him either,” Forbes said. “I wasn’t happy with that (Franklin’s eight offensive rebounds).”

Deivon Smith led Tech in scoring with 15 points on 7-14 shooting and added five rebounds and five assists with a pair of blocks.

Miles Kelly suffered a leg injury in the first half and he was held to zero points in the second half after scoring nine in the first half he was 0-5 after his injury shooting.

Cameron Hildreth led Wake with 19 points including 9-12 from the charity stripe.

Tyree Appleby hit the two game-clinching free throws that tied the game and then gave Wake the lead.

Tech held Wake to 27.3% from three in the game 6-22 and just 44.2% shooting for the game.

The Jackets shot 42.1% from three, but just 40.4% inside the arc.

Wake had eight turnovers in the first half while Tech had just five, but the Deacs only had two turnovers in the second half compared to six for the Jackets.

After digging an early in the first six minutes 16-5, the Jackets controlled the second half taking a 38-34 lead thanks to solid outside shooting 5-10 from three and 14 points off eight Wake Forest first-half turnovers. Deivon Smith and Miles Kelly combined for 18 points in the first half and Ja’von Franklin added seven rebounds in the half. Cam Hildreth and Matthew Marsh combined for 16 points to lead the Deacs at the break. Wake also shot just 4-16 from three in the first half aiding Tech’s efforts.

Tech opened the game with a defensive stop and a three and then gave up a 9-0 run before Rodney Howard ended the run with a hook shot ahead of the first media timeout at 15:05 with the game at 9-5. Wake extended the lead to 16-5 on a 7-0 leading to Pastner's timeout. Tech went on a 13-3 run to cut the Wake lead to one, 19-18 leading to Forbes timeout. Miles Kelly hit a three to tie the game and Jalon Moore hit a big bucket with contact under the basket to make it 23-21 Tech with 7:02 left in the half. Tech maintained the lead with strong outside shooting taking a 32-28 lead to the final media timeout with 3:14 left. Tech took a 38-34 lead to the locker room.

Tech maintained their lead through the first media timeout 42-39 with 15:47 left after a sluggish start for both teams. Franklin scored three straight baskets extending Tech’s lead to 50-43 with 13:00 minutes left going into a media timeout. Wake got into the bonus and used free throws to chip away at Tech’s lead tying the game at 53 with 9:35 left. Wake picked up the lead on another pair of free throws 55-53. Lance Terry regained the lead for Tech on a hoop and harm 56-55. Deebo Coleman picked up his fourth foul with 6:26 left. Deebo Coleman hit a clutch three to put Tech up 66-63 and Deivon Smith followed it with a late shot clock pull-up jumper to make it 68-63. Appleby hit a layup to make it a two-point game. Miles Kelly got a late shot clock offensive rebound with just under a minute to play and Pastner burned a timeout to set up a half-court play. Andrew Carr hit two free throws with 31.1 left. Sturdivant turned the ball over after stopping his dribble in the corner and Carr called timeout. Appleby hit a layup with 11.8 left to give Wake a 69-68 lead. Smith drove the length of the court and scored to make it 70-69 GT with 7 seconds left. Smith fouled Appleby with 2.3 seconds left.