THE FLATS – A furious 11-1 run down the stretch wasn’t enough in the comeback effort as Georgia Tech men’s basketball fell 74-71 to UMass Lowell on Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion.
The River Hawks (3-0) raced out to a 10-2 run early to open but the Yellow Jackets (2-1) were able to respond with an 18-2 run of their own, sparking a 40-minute slugfest between the two teams.
After holding just a 26-23 lead at the half, the Jackets looked to extend their lead, but the River Hawks continued to pound the paint, owning a 44-38 advantage down low after shooting 51 percent from the field in the second half.
The Jackets trailed by 11 at one point, when rallied back to tie the game at 69-all with 1:34 to play on Miles Kelly’s jumper in the lane. He was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw, and the River Hawks answered with a three-point play of their own from Cam Morris III with 1:04 to go. Kyle Sturdivant brought the Jackets back within one with a layup with 48 seconds left, but those were Tech’s last points, and Andres Fulgencio iced the game with a pair of free throws with two ticks on the clock.
Tech shot better in the second half, shooting 42.5 in the second half to finish 37.1 percent for the game. Tech struggled at the free-throw line, shooting just 56.5 percent (13-of-23) compared to UMass Lowell’s 84.2 percent (16-of-19).
Tech was led by Deebo Coleman, who finished with a career-high 24 points. Sturdivant and Kelly finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, to round out the double-digit efforts.
UMass Lowell was led by Ayinde Hikim, who finished with 24 points, on 9-of-24 shooting for the night.
Georgia Tech heads out on the road for the first time this season when it heads to Cincinnati on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Kyle Sturdivant (1) finished with 12 points and five assists on Tuesday night. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Post-Game Notes
- At least nine players have seen the court in each of Tech’s three games (10 vs. Howard). Eight players average 13 or more minutes per game.
- Tech has played its first three games without senior guard Lance Terry and freshman forward Baye Ndongo, out with injuries. Both are expected to be significant contributors to the Jackets this season.
- Tech has a 40-to-31 assist/turnover ratio over its first three games, averaging just 10.3 turnovers per game.
- Tech’s 11 assists were a season low.
- Tech has surrendered 94 points in the paint in its last two games.
- Tech is averaging 25.7 three-point attempts per game, and 37.1 percent of its three-point field goals have come from behind the arc.
- Deebo Coleman has made at least one three-point field goal in 18 consecutive games, dating back to Jan. 17, 2023 when he went 0-5 vs. NC State. He hit 5-of-9 from distance against UMass Lowell and is 9-of-16 for the season.
- Coleman’s 24 points against the River Hawks were a career high, beating his previous best of 21 vs. Virginia Tech last Feb. 15.
- Through three games, Coleman has connected on 62.5 percent of his shots from the floor and 56.3 percent from three-point range, both team highs.
- Coleman has yet to commit a turnover in more than 85 minutes of court time in three games.
- Miles Kelly extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 11 after tallying 11 points against UMass Lowell. He has averaged 20.1 points over that stretch.
- Tyzhaun Claude saw his streak of double-digit scoring games end at 18 after scoring just nine points with nine rebounds against UMass Lowell. Claude reached double figures in 30 of 31 games last season at Western Carolina.
- Claude also leads the Jackets in rebounding (8.3 rpg).
- Kyle Sturdivant has 13 assists against four turnovers through three games.
Deebo Coleman (3) led the way for Tech with a career-high 24-point scoring night on Tuesday. (photo by Danny Karnik)
