Tech's hot streak and season ends with 89-81 loss to Pitt

GREENSBORO, NC- Georgia Tech once again trailed by double-digits at the half, but the Jackets didn’t quit and kept fighting pushing the #5 seeded Pitt Panthers to the brink in a 89-81 loss in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

Tech head coach Josh Pastner flanked by senior Ja’von Franklin and junior Kyle Sturdivant was emotional after the loss.

“I want to give an incredible thank you to these two guys to my left and the other guys in the locker room and my staff. These guys have been just -- how hard they've played and how they've battled and competed. And just, man, we were down I think 13 at half, and we made some adjustments, and we found our way to fight back, and we had some chances. We really had some opportunities there. We missed a couple of free throws, had some good looks,” Pastner said.

Franklin in his final game as a Yellow Jacket posted yet another double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds as well as six steals and four assists.

“I can't say enough about these gentlemen to my left. Ja'von Franklin. In Georgia Tech history Malcolm Mackey had seven 15-rebound games over his four-year career; Ja'von Franklin has had five 15-rebound games in his last nine games. It's absolutely amazing, absolutely outstanding. We tied the Georgia Tech for points per possession over a point per possession, so we did that today, so 10 straight games of over a point per possession,” Pastner said.

The rise of Franklin over the final month of the season impressed everyone he faced.

“Franklin is a super athletic dude and he can run and jump and he was really difficult to guard,” Pitt center Federiko Federiko said.

Sturdivant was big down the stretch scoring 16 points with five rebounds and eight assists in the game.

“I was just so proud of Kyle Sturdivant. He's our team captain. Just like everybody else in the locker room, those guys -- he just left it all on the floor. I can't say enough words about these guys,” Pastner said.

For Sturdivant, the end of the season was a bitter one after playing on the team that stormed through the ACC Tournament in 2021.

“I think we just didn't want our season to end. Like Coach was saying, I think we had -- I don't think another team has had a better February than us, so we just wanted to carry it over, and I'm proud of the guys for the fight we had throughout the whole 40 minutes,” he said.

Sturdivant has one more year of eligibility remaining, but he did not want to discuss that after the loss.

Deebo Coleman added 17 points and nine rebounds picking up the scoring slack for Lance Terry who was held to nine points on 4-12 shooting before fouling out at the end of the game.

Miles Kelly was held in check in the first half by Pitt to no points, but he scored 16 in the second half going 5-9 shooting and 3-6 from three in that half.

The Jackets’ lack of depth due to injuries to Deivon Smith, Rodney Howard, and Tristan Maxwell left the Jackets with one regular sub in the ACC Tournament, Jalon Moore. Moore played just six minutes off the bench scoring four points with two rebounds.

Jamarius Burton led Pitt with 21 points on 10-15 shooting with eight assists. All his points except for a free throw came in the lane where he found a soft spot in the Tech defense.

Federiko scored 19 points on 7-7 shooting with eight rebounds, but he sat much of the second half with foul trouble forcing Capel to play Guillermo Diaz Graham for extended minutes.

“We struggled with our ball screen adjustments and made one adjustment late,” Capel said of the Jackets. “They played with freedom knowing they had no subs.”

Greg Elliott III added 16 points hitting on all four of his three-point attempts in the game.

Tech did manage to slow down Nelly Cummings and Blake Hinson holding the duo to 7-20 shooting and 23 points, but Hinson’s second three was what put the game away for Pitt.

Georgia Tech looked like a tired team in the first half allowing Pitt to shoot 59.3 percent from the field and 4-9 from three to take a 44-31 lead into the break. Miles Kelly was held scoreless in the first half going 0-4 shooting with no stats other than a foul. Franklin (9 points and 9 rebounds) and Coleman (9 points and 3 rebounds) carried the team in the first half. Pitt’s Federiko had 13 points on 5-5 from the floor and 3-4 from the line. Burton added 10 points for Pitt going 5-7 in the lane shooting. Tech shot just 36.7 percent and 3-12 from three.

Georgia Tech AD J Batt will make the decision on what happens with Pastner in the coming week after two lackluster seasons overall following the ACC Tournament in 2020. Batt offered a no comment after the game to JOL. Pastner advocated for his continued employment in his presser:

"Look, I would tell you that when I got the job, they told me when I came in, and I met with everybody, that it's going to be -- you're starting from ground zero. And they said you're going to lose so much your first three or four years that you're going to -- we've got to have someone that's going to be ultra positive because you're going to lose so much.

Initially they told me they didn't know if I could handle it because at Memphis, we had won a lot of games. We had won quite a bit at Memphis. I said, no, I'm excited about the rebuild. I'm excited about that.

It took us some time, but I told everyone there that it was going to be five years. We were really good in year four. Obviously the COVID thing happened, and then we were really good in year five.

Look, last year we didn't have as great of a year. We've really finished really well this year, and I wish we started better -- we started fine, it was probably more that middle run. But I would tell you, I hope to be at Georgia Tech. I love Georgia Tech. I love my job. I have a real passion for it, and I believe in it.

Obviously my boss is President Cabrera and Mr. Batt, they're in charge, so whatever they say, they're in charge. I hope I can continue to be at Georgia Tech."

Batt has been very methodical in everything he has done at Georgia Tech and that is likely going to be the case as well with making a decision on the future leadership of the program meaning it may be a few days before anything is announced.

The Jackets opened up with threes by Lance Terry and Deebo Coleman but trailed 9-8 at the first media timeout with 15:34 left in the half. The Jackets went scoreless for over three minutes and dug a small hole shooting 2-12 during that stretch to trail by seven at the second media timeout with 11:20 left in the half. Deebo Coleman added a three and free throw to cut the Pitt lead to 23-18 at the third media timeout with 7:46 left. Pitt hit seven straight baskets to extend their lead to 13 at one point. Tech trailed by 11 at the final media timeout with 2:57 left.

The Jackets hit four of their first six shots in the second half to pull back within five, 46-41 leading to a Capel timeout with 17:15 left. The Jackets went on an 18-6 run to cut the Pitt lead to just one after a pair of dunks by Franklin into the first media timeout with 14:41 left. Tech took the lead on a Miles Kelly bucket and foul 52-50. The game was tied at 52 after a Federiko dunk at the second media timeout with 11:55 left. Franklin had a chance to give Tech the lead but missed a pair of free throws and Kelly missed a three on the offensive rebound off the second miss. Elliott hit a three to extend Pitt’s lead to four and the Panthers led by four at the third media timeout with 7:46 left. Pitt hit four straight buckets to go up 70-63 leading to another timeout by Pastner with 6:14 left. Pitt managed to maintain the lead throughout the final stretch leading to the final media timeout at 2:20 with the Panthers lead 79-73. Hinson had the game clinching shot with 41 seconds left in the game to put Pitt up 85-77 on a three. Sturdivant added four points late to make it 85-81 with 22.1 left.