Feb. 27, 2016
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Game highlights (audio) | Coach Gregory post-game audio | Smith and Georges-Hunt post-game audio
BOSTON (AP) Marcus Georges-Hunt, quite literally, couldn’t miss.
The senior guard made all seven of his field-goal attempts and scored 23 points to lead Georgia Tech to a 76-71 victory over Boston College on Saturday, giving the Eagles their 16th consecutive loss.
The Yellow Jackets guard made a 3-pointer from the left wing; he dropped in two baby hooks from the post over Boston College’s Eli Carter in the first half; when Carter backed off to give Georges-Hunt space, he hit a midrange jump shot.
“He’s in control,” Yellow Jackets head coach Brian Gregory said after the game. “He knows what shots to take, when to take them. He’s so efficient.”
Adam Smith chipped in with 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, helping the Yellow Jackets (17-12, 7-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their fourth consecutive game and fifth of their last six.
Eli Carter came off the bench to lead BC (7-22, 0-16) with 25 points. Dennis Clifford added 17.
No team has gone winless in the ACC regular season since Maryland finished 0-14 in 1987, but the Eagles are on the brink. They have two games remaining before they head to Washington, D.C. for the ACC tournament.
From the 16:26 mark of the first half until the second media timeout with 11:38 to go, Georgia Tech used a 17-5 run to bring the score to 25-12.
The Eagles picked up their seventh team foul with 9:31 remaining in the first half, and Georgia Tech took advantage by getting to the line for 17 attempts in the period, hitting 13.
Carter, BC’s point guard, committed 10 turnovers on the afternoon.
“I just got careless with the ball,” he said. “I anticipated some of the passes that I thought would be there that weren’t there. Sometimes when Dennis was rolling, I anticipated those. It just didn’t work out the way I wanted it to.”
Although there were no lead changes in the game, BC managed to keep the deficit in single digits for most of the second half.
The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over six times in the first eight minutes of the second half, and BC pulled to within 56-54 after a layup by Matt Milon with 10:07 left.
With 1:09 to play, the Eagles’ Darryl Hicks stole the ball from Smith and passed it up the floor to Carter for an uncontested layup, bringing BC within 72-68.
Georges-Hunt and forward Quinton Stephens each hit a pair of free throws to ice the game.
Georgia Tech’s victory on Saturday ended a two-game skid against BC. The Eagles ousted the Yellow Jackets from last season’s ACC tournament with a 66-65 win.
Georges-Hunt is averaging 22.3 points per game and 4.2 assists during the last six games.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Boston College assistant coach Stan Heath got to shake a familiar hand after the final buzzer — his son Josh, a junior guard for the Yellow Jackets, scored two points in eight minutes of action.
TOURNAMENT BUZZ
Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory hasn’t given up on his team’s NCAA tournament prospects. “We’re still in the fight,” he said after the game. “You just want it for our guys. You know, those five seniors have given a lot and have really matured and grown up, so you want them to taste that success and be part of really important games in later February and March.”
EAGLES ON THE MEND
Boston College freshmen A.J. Turner (ankle) and Jerome Robinson (wrist) didn’t play but could be seen shooting in pre-game warmups. Turner has not appeared in a game since February 9th against No. 7 North Carolina. Robinson has been sidelined since January 26th, when he fractured his wrist in a home game against Florida State.
TIP-INS
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets began the game by making 9 of 10 shots from the field, and they finished with 72.7 percent shooting in the first half, their highest rate in a half this season.
Boston College: Freshman guard Sammy Barnes-Thompkins scored a career-high 15 points, all of them coming on 3-pointers. He made 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc and contributed three rebounds and two assists.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech visits No. 11 Louisville on Tuesday.
Boston College visits N.C. State on Wednesday.
