Georgia Tech beats Clemson, 70-62

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech gained the permanent lead in the first quarter despite a feisty Clemson team and walked away with a 70-62 victory Thursday night in McCamish Pavilion. The third-straight Atlantic Coast Conference win pushed the Jackets to 12-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.

Four Yellow Jackets finished in double-figures, paced by 19 points from Kara Dunn and a double-double from Kayla Blackshear with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Tonie Morgan added 16 points, while Rusne Augustinaite contributed 14 to the scoreboard. Off the bench, Sydney Johnson dished out a season-high seven assists, and provided valuable minutes down the stretch.

Georgia Tech set the tone early, fighting back from an early deficit to build a six-point lead off a Morgan three-pointer at the first quarter buzzer for a 17-11 score. Fueled by eight points from Morgan, the Jackets opened a 28-18 lead in the second quarter and led 32-23 at intermission.

Inés Noguero dropped in a triple from the corner in the third, but the Tigers strung together an 8-0 run to close the gap to 41-39, forcing Georgia Tech to call a timeout at 4:45. Amari Robinson converted a three-point play to open the fourth quarter, slicing the score to 45-44, but the Jackets answered with an 11-2 run of their own, fueled by seven points from Dunn, to push their lead back out to 56-46 with 7:13 to play. Clemson did not go lightly and slowly chipped away, coming back within two points, but strong play from Dunn helped the Jackets close the game for their third-straight win.

Georgia Tech won the battle on the glass, 36-33, and recorded 20 assists on 28 made field goals on the night. The Jackets converted 9-of-11 free throws, highlighted by a perfect 5-for-5 effort from Morgan at the stripe.

Clemson was led by Robinson with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mackenzie Kramer and Ruby Whitehorn, who both opened the game with three-pointers, added 18 and 17 points, respectively. The Tigers hit seven three-pointers, but were limited at the free throw line, going 5-for-5.

Georgia Tech is back in action this weekend traveling to Duke for a Sunday tilt. The Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils tip at 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.