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.
Lance Terry (0) led the Jackets with 18 points. (photo by Cameron Viento)
POST-GAME NOTES
- Tech ended a season-long three-game winning streak with its loss at Syracuse.
- Tech’s 55 points against Syracuse were a season low after scoring 85 or more in three straight games. The Yellow Jackets have scored less than 60 points three times this season (Cincinnati, Duke, Syracuse).
- Tech has connected on less than 40 percent of its field goal tries seven times this season (36.4% vs. Syracuse). The Yellow Jackets snapped a three-game streak in which they had shot 54 percent or better, setting season highs in each game.
- Tech has shot better than 50% from the floor in four of its last six games dating back to UMBC on Dec. 18.
- Tech also set season lows for shooting percentage from three-point range (19%, 4-for-21) and the free throw line (27.3%, 3-for-11).
- Air temperature outside the JMA Wireless Dome was just as cold (21 degrees) with snow showers.
- Senior guard Lance Terry has averaged 18.5 points in his last four games. The senior guard has gone 26-of-45 (57.8%) from the floor, 12-of-24 from three-point range (50%).
- In ACC games, Terry leads the Jackets at 16.2 points per game while connecting on 44.1 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent from bonus land.
- Senior guard Javian McCollum (6 points, no 3-point FG) snapped a string of three double-digit games in which he totaled 59 points, and a string of four straight games in which he made at least two three-pointers).
- Freshman guard Jaeden Mustaf scored 8 points (4-8 FG) with 6 rebounds and 4 steals at Syracuse.
- Sophomore guard Naithan George (13 points, 5 assists vs. Syracuse) reached 100 assists for the season and remains No. 2 in the ACC at 6.3 per game.
Naithan George (1) scored 13 points with five assists. (photo by Cameron Viento)
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO
