Hokies Escape Jackets, 71-65

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Georgia Tech used a 17-4 run over five minutes to climb back within two points, but the Yellow Jackets could not pull out the road victory, falling at Virginia Tech, 71-65, Tuesday night in Cassell Coliseum. Baye Ndongo joined the 1,000-career points club in the outing and was one of four Yellow Jackets to finish in double figures.

Georgia Tech trailed by 15 with just over four minutes to play before staging a late rally and keeping the Hokies at bay. Virginia Tech hit its final field goal of the night at the 6:58 mark of the second half as the Yellow Jackets pressured the Hokies and cut the score to one possession over the final minutes. The Jackets went 6-of-6 from the field to put together a 13-1 run over 3:51 minutes, setting up a 66-63 score with 29.6 seconds on the clock. Lamar Washington would cut the score to 67-65 with a layup with 19.2 ticks on the clock, but it would be the Jackets’ final bucket of the game as the Hokies closed out the game at the free throw line for the final 71-65 score.

Virginia Tech was held to a 33.8 percent (22-65) effort from the field and shot just 27.6 percent (8-29) in the game from three-point range. The Yellow Jackets converted 43.9 percent (25-57) of its field goal attempts, but hit only 3-of-17 three-pointers. Jaeden Mustaf led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his second career double-double. He was joined in double-figures by Washington (12), Ndongo (14) and Kam Craft (11).

Hot shooting right out of the gate by Craft opened a 9-0 Georgia Tech lead off a trio of three-pointers before Virginia Tech was able to get on the scoreboard. The Jackets would use an 8-0 spurt midway through the half, highlighted by Ndongo crossing 1,000-career points, to gain a 24-20 edge, but VT would regain the advantage and lead by as many as eight points with a 36-30 halftime lead. The teams worked through three lead changes and three tied scores with Craft leading all scorers at halftime with 11 points.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Saturday, Jan. 31, hosting No. 16 North Carolina in McCamish Pavilion. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. on the ACC Network.  

Jaeden Mustaf recorded his second career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds (Grayson Rosen photo)

Postgame Notes

TEAM NOTES

• Georgia Tech dipped to 11-10 overall and 2-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference play with the loss.
• Georgia Tech dropped its first game of the season when holding its opponent to under 40.0% shooting from the floor.
• Four Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures, marking the 13^th time this season at least four Jackets posted 10-plus.
• The Yellow Jackets won the battle on the glass, 38-36, but Virginia Tech outscored Georgia Tech on second chance points, 16-8, on 14 offensive rebounds.
• The Hokies also used 14 Georgia Tech turnovers to their advantage, converting the miscues into 20 points.
• Virginia Tech finished 19-for-26 at the free throw line, including a 14-for-19 (73.7%) showing over the final 9:29 of the game.
• In the second half, the Hokies were held to just a 30.0 percent (9-30) shooting efficiency to Georgia Tech’s 44.8 percent (13-29).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Junior Baye Ndongo became the 49^th Yellow Jacket in program history to join the 1,000-career points club. He also became just the 22^nd player with 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. Ndongo just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
• Redshirt-junior Kam Craft returned to the starting lineup for his 12^th start of the season. Finishing with 11 points, he reached double-digits by halftime for his sixth 10-plus performance in the White and Gold.
• Jaeden Mustaf recorded his second double-double of the season, and second in three games, with a season-high 16 points and career-high 11 rebounds. Mustaf has now scored in double-figures in four of eight ACC contests.
• Lamar Washington added 12 points for his 13^th game in double-figures this season and led the Yellow Jackets in assists for the 16^th-straight game with five.
• Peyton Marshall recorded a career-high three blocks.

Baye Ndongo surpassed 1,000-career points in the game (Grayson Rosen photo)

MULTIMEDIA

PRESS CONFERENCE

Full Steam Ahead

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.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

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