BERKELEY, Calif. – Baye Ndongo just missed a triple double with 12 rebounds, 10 points and eight assists, and Georgia Tech erased its deficit to take the lead in the second half, but the Yellow Jackets could not secure the road victory, falling at California, 90-85, Wednesday night.
Hot shooting from the Golden Bears allowed the home team to open a double-digit lead in the first half as Cal shot 50.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Cal led by as many as 14 in the first half, including its halftime advantage of 43-29.
But it was a tale of two halves as Georgia Tech came out strong in the second half and quickly began attacking its deficit. After a three-pointer from Dai Dai Ames, the Yellow Jackets strung together an 8-0 spurt in just over a minute of playing time, slicing the score to 47-41 and forcing Cal to burn a timeout with 17:05 on the clock.
Tech extended its run to 20-2, capped by buckets from Davi Remagen, Akai Fleming and Chas Kelley III, giving the Yellow Jackets their first advantage of the game, 53-49, with 14:08 remaining. The Golden Bears regained the lead from the free throw line in the next possessions before Kelley drained a triple to a 56-54 Tech lead, its final advantage of the game. Kam Craft knotted the game at 59-59 with his third three-pointer of the game at 10:14, but California would keep Tech’s rally at bay and close out the win, 90-85.
The Jackets outscored the Golden Bears in the second half, 56-47, shooting 55.3 percent from the field. But California finished 28-of-39 at the free throw line, including a 23-of-30 effort in the second half, to seal the win. Cal’s effort at the free throw line marked the highest total at the charity stripe by an ACC opponent this season and most since Louisville converted 31-of-34 on Feb. 10, 2024.
Tech dominated in the paint, 48-16, and scored 38 points off the bench for its highest bench total this season. Fleming led Tech offensively with 19 points, followed by Kelley (15), Craft (14), Jaeden Mustaf (14) and Ndongo (10). Ndongo led the Jackets on the glass with his game-high 12 rebounds, while dishing out a career-high eight assists.
Ames led Cal with 29 points and was one of five Golden Bears in double figures. Cal hit 12 three-pointers in the outing, including eight in the first half to help the Golden Bears open the double-figure advantage.
Georgia Tech concludes its West Coast swing on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Stanford. Tip is slated for 8 p.m. ET in Maples Pavilion and will be broadcast on ESPNU.