Milwaukee, Wis. – Georgia Tech spotted Northwestern the first 11 points of the first half and the first seven points of the second half, battled back each time but lost, 71-60, to the Wildcats Sunday afternoon in the MKE Tip-off at the Fiserv Forum.
Tech (4-6) lost its third straight game, all of them on the road, as it returns home for a pair of games this week. Northwestern (8-3) won its second game in a row.
Tech surrendered an 11-0 lead out of the gate, missing its first seven shots while committing four turnovers before Javian McCollum (Fort Myers, Fla.) got the Yellow Jackets on the board with a 3-point field goal at the 13:40 mark. The Jackets recovered, limiting Northwestern to missing 12 of 14 shots at one point and shaved their deficit twice to three points before going into intermission trailing 31-26.
But Northwestern scored the first seven points of the second half to again stretch its lead to double digits within the first three minutes. This time Tech did not recover, falling behind by as many as 22 points before trimming the deficit to the final 11 points.
Tech shot the ball poorly for the second straight game (39.3 percent). Senior guard Lance Terry (College Park, Ga.) led the Jackets with 17 points, while graduate center Ryan Mutombo (Atlanta, Ga.) contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in his first action of the season, playing 22 minutes. Freshman guard Jaeden Mustaf (Bowie, Md.) added 11 points and six boards.
Brooks Barnhizer led four Wildcats in double digits with a game-high 20 points. Nick Martinelli and Jalen Leach each scored 16, and Ty Berry added 11 for Northwestern, who made nine threes in the game.
Tech returns to home this week for two games, first hosting UMBC at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion. The game will be live streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Graduate center Ryan Mutombo (12) saw his first action of the season and chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. (photo by Chris Kohley)
POST-GAME NOTES
- Tech has a 6-3 all-time record in the city of Milwaukee. That includes a 5-1 mark in NCAA Tournament games.
- Four Tech players are averaging in double-figure points through five games (Lance Terry6, Baye Ndongo 12.5, Javian McCollum 11.2, Naithan George 10.3).
- Tech has used four different starting lineups in nine games this season, all of them occurring as a result of injury. Tech played four games without starting guard Javian McCollum, who returned against Northwestern, and Kowacie Reeves, Jr., who has missed the Jackets’ last four games.
- Ten players saw the court for the Jackets against Northwestern and eight of them scored.
- Tech averaged 62 points in its three games away from McCamish Pavilion, hitting a collective 37 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from three-point range, and has not scored more than 69 in any of its five games against Power 4 conference foes.
- Tech’s 16 turnovers against Northwestern were a season high. The Jackets are averaging 11.4 per game.
- Tech has limited its last five foes to 40 percent or less from the floor (37.2 percent collectively). Northwestern shot an even 40 percent against the Jackets.
- Senior guard Lance Terry has reached double figures eight times in 10 games this season and 54 times in his career. He led the Jackets with 17 points at Northwestern.
- Freshman guard Jaeden Mustaf has scored in double digits in four of his last six games after tallying 11 against Northwestern.
- After starting the season 2-of-13 from the floor, Mustaf is 21-of-48 over his last six games (43.8%).
- Javian McCollum saw the court for the first time since Nov. 23 (concussion). He played 23 minutes and scored one field goal, a three-pointer which gave him at least one in all six games he has played this season.
- Graduate center Ryan Mutombo, a transfer from Georgetown, saw his first action of the season, delivering 10 points (5-8 FG), seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 23 minutes.
- Freshman Darrion Sutton played three minutes, his first action since Tech’s season opener against West Georgia.
Lance Terry (0) led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points. (photo by Chris Kohley)
STOUDAMIRE POST-GAME AUDIO
