Late Rally Comes Up Just Short in Loss to Syracuse

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech battled back from a 20-point second-half deficit to close within five in the waning minutes, but Syracuse held off the rally to defeat the Yellow Jackets, 82-72, on Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion.

Baye Ndongo led Georgia Tech (10-6, 1-2 ACC) with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Syracuse (10-5, 1-1 ACC) closed the first half with a 12-4 run to open up a 14-point halftime lead (44-30), then began the second half with a 10-4 spurt to stretch the advantage to 20 at 54-34.

The Yellow Jackets began to chip away at the lead at the 10-minute mark of the second half and used a 16-3 run to cut an 18-point deficit all the way down to five at 72-67 on a layup by Ndongo with 3:26 to go in the ballgame.

However, the Orange scored the first four points after a timeout to essentially seal the victory.

Georgia Tech’s second-half surge was fueled by intensity on both ends of the court, as the Jackets scored 15 fast-break points and 11 points off turnovers, after being scoreless in both categories before halftime.

In addition to Ndongo’s 20 points, Kowacie Reeves Jr. had 11 and Jaeden Mustaf had 10 to round out three scorers in double figures for Tech, which lost for just the second time in its last seven games overall, as well as only the second time in 12 home games this season.

Georgia Tech travels to Miami (Fla.) on Saturday for a noon tipoff. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Baye Ndongo led Georgia Tech with 20 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday night (Danny Karnik photo).

Postgame Notes

TEAM NOTES

• Georgia Tech dropped just its second home game of the season on Tuesday night, falling to 10-6 overall, 1-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and 10-2 at home.
• The Yellow Jackets had three in double-figures tonight, and have had at least two in all 16 games.
• Georgia Tech trailed by 20 points in the second half for the largest deficit faced this season. The Jackets rallied back to within five points late in the second half.
• Despite its second-half deficit, the Yellow Jackets won the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Orange, 42-38.
• The Yellow Jackets dropped the rebounding battle, 44-34, for just the sixth time this season and second in conference play. Tech lost the battle on the glass in both its ACC losses.
• Georgia Tech committed only nine turnovers in the outing and dished out 16 assists.
• Syracuse converted 23-of-31 free throw attempts (74.2%), while Georgia Tech was 18-for-26 (69.2%).
• Syracuse came into the contest leading the ACC in scoring defense, holding its opponents to 64.8 points per game. Georgia Tech’s 72 points bested the average by nearly eight points.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Junior Baye Ndongo posted a team-high 20 points for his ninth game in double-figures this season. The offensive performance matched his season-high set against Georgia Southern (11/18/2025) and marked his 11^th career 20-plus point outing. Ndongo just missed a double-double, securing nine rebounds, while also logging an assist, steal and block.
• Ndongo now owns 958 career points, needing 42 to hit 1,000.
• Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 11 points to the scoreboard, extending his streak of double figure games to eight. Reeves registered a team-high three steals in the outing.
• Jaeden Mustaf rounded out Tech’s trio of players in double-figures with 10 points for his third game this season in double figures. Mustaf led Tech at the free throw line, converting 5-of-8 attempts.
• Lamar Washington was just out of reach for a double figure outing, contributing nine points in the game. He added seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists, while collecting three steals.
• Freshman Akai Fleming converted 4-of-4 free throw attempts and logged nine points in the game.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. was honored during a pregame ceremony for his 1,000 career points. He scored 11 in Tuesday’s game (Danny Karnik photo).

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Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

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