Jackets Battle, but Fall at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. – Jaeden Mustaf and Kowacie Reeves Jr. each pitched in 20-plus point performances and Georgia Tech led for over 23 minutes, but could not pull out the victory at Clemson on Saturday afternoon, falling 79-76 in the regular season finale. Mustaf led all scorers with a career-high 28 points.

In the first half, Clemson took a six-point lead early before the Yellow Jackets gained control the remainder of the half. Trailing 13-8 with 14:44 on the clock, Chas Kelley III sparked a 12-0 run over the next 4:46 minutes of playing time to put Tech in front, 20-14. Five unanswered points from Mustaf midway through would give the Jackets their largest lead of the half, 27-18, as the Jackets shot an efficient 50 percent (14-28) from the field and hit five three-pointers, paced by two from Akai Fleming.

Clemson would take its first lead of the game since early in the first half using an 8-0 run in the second. But despite gaining a two-possession advantage, Clemson’s lead was short-lived as the teams worked through seven lead changes and four tied scores in the final 20 minutes. As time continued to wind down, Reeves would tie the game at 64 on a dunk with 5:06 to play. It would remain a one possession lead for the Tigers over the next four minutes in a back-and-forth battle. On a driving layup with 4.6 seconds left, Mustaf setup a 77-76 tally, but Clemson closed it out with a pair of free throws as Tech’s final attempt as time expired was off the mark.

Mustaf led three Jackets in double-figures with his 28 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including an 11-for-12 free throw line showing (both career-highs). Reeves added 13 points in the second half to finish with 20 for his eighth 20-point game this season. Fleming was just short of matching his career-high, contributing 18 points. Baye Ndongo led Tech on the glass with 10 rebounds.

Four Tigers hit double-figures paced by Nick Davidson and Efrem Johnson each with 15 points.

Tech shot 50.0 percent for the game, while Clemson finished with a 44.6 percent effort after shooting just 35.5 percent in the first half.

In his final collegiate game, Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 20 points (Glenn Ingram photo)

 

Postgame Notes

• Georgia Tech finished the season at 11-20 overall and 2-16 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
• Three Jackets finished in double-figures – Jaeden Mustaf (28), Kowacie Reeves Jr. (20) and Akai Fleming (18). It was the fourth game this season two Jackets scored 20 or more points.
• Overall, Tech shot 50.0 percent from the field and 85.7 percent (18-21) from the free throw line.
• Tech won the rebounding battle, 34-28, led by Baye Ndongo with 10 rebounds. It was Ndongo’s seventh 10-plus rebounding game of the season. Tech won the rebounding battle 14 times during the season.
• Tech dominated on the glass in the second half, 17-9, including a 6-2 offensive edge. With 10 offensive rebounds in the game, Tech finished with 16 second chance points.
• Akai Fleming logged his 17^th double-figure game by halftime, leading all scorers with 14 points in the first half. The outing marked his fourth-straight 10-plus point game.
• Fleming finished with 18 points, just two shy of his career-high. The freshman also pulled down six rebounds.
• Jaeden Mustaf also reached double-figures by halftime with 11 points for his 13^th game this season in double-figures, sixth-straight and 12^th against league opponents.
• Mustaf finished with 28 points for a career-high (prev. 18 twice). The sophomore opened 10-for-10 at the charity stripe before missing an attempt and finished 11-for-12.
• Kowacie Reeves Jr. tallied his 24th double-figure scoring game in his final season, adding 20 points, 13 coming in the second half. Reeves connected on nine field goals.
• Cole Kirouac recorded a career-high three blocks in the outing.

Akai Fleming added 18 points and six rebounds in the outing (Grayson Rosen photo)

 

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