THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s basketball raced out to an early 11-point advantage and led for most of the first half, but visiting Virginia went on a 23-3 run that spanned the end of the first period and the beginning of the second, and held off the Yellow Jackets, 75-66, on Saturday evening at McCamish Pavilion.
A loud crowd of 6,380 saw Georgia Tech jump out to a 24-13 lead just 11 minutes into the game and the Jackets led by eight at 29-21 with under four minutes to go in the first half. However, Virginia made its final five shots of the opening period and outscored Tech, 12-0, over the last three-and-a-half minutes of the half to take a 33-29 halftime lead.
Virginia remained hot after the break, making four of its first six shots and outscoring the Jackets, 11-3, to cap the 23-3 run and take a 44-32 lead just over three minutes into the second half.
However, the Yellow Jackets wouldn’t go away quietly, as they used a 9-0 run to pull within five points at 67-62 and ignite the McCamish Pavilion crowd with 1:39 to go. But Virginia got huge 3-pointers from Jacob Groves and Isaac McKneely in the final 90 seconds to hold off the Jackets, who fell by single digits for the fourth time in their five Atlantic Coast Conference defeats.
Georgia Tech (9-9, 2-5 ACC) was led once again by true freshmen point guard Naithan George and Baye Ndongo, who scored 15 points apiece. George dished out a team-high nine assists while Ndongo made 6-of-7 field goals and grabbed a team-high-tying five rebounds.
McKneely led Virginia (13-5, 4-3 ACC) with 20 points and UVA’s Reece Beekman added 19 points and 11 assists.
Georgia Tech returns to action on Tuesday against Pitt. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.