Syracuse, N.Y. – Lance Terry and Naithan George combined to score 13 of Georgia Tech’s final 15 points in a late comeback attempt for Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets came up short in a 62-55 loss to Syracuse Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Tech (8-8, 2-3 ACC), which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end, struggled through a cold shooting night, especially in the first half, but managed to take its first lead of the game, 38-35, at the 11:05 mark of the second half after layups by Ryan Mutombo and Baye Ndongo.
But the Orange (7-8, 1-3 ACC) put together a 12-2 run to take a 47-40 lead with 8:29 to go and didn’t allow the Jackets closer than three points after that. Eddie Lamkin, Jr. scored seven of his 10 points, and J.J. Starling five of his game-high 21 during the run.
George, who scored 13 points, stemmed the run with a pair of jump shots and scored six points down the stretch. Terry, who led the Jackets with 18 points, got a layup, a pair of free throws and a three-point basket to bring Tech within 58-55 with 34 seconds to go. But Syracuse salted away their first ACC win with four free throws in the final 27 seconds.
Both teams were cold as the snowy Syracuse night from the floor, with Tech making just 36 percent of its field goal tries after shooting better than 50 percent in each of its three straight wins. The Orange hit 41 percent. The difference came at the free throw line, where Syracuse hit 6-of-7 in the second half, and Tech made just 3-of-10.
Tech returns to action Saturday at 4 p.m. EST when it visits SMU at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.