Georgia Tech falls to Miami, 91-81

Staff Reports

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Georgia Tech men’s basketball trimmed the score to five points with just over two minutes to play, but could not overcome the Miami Hurricanes in the Watsco Center on Saturday afternoon, falling 91-81. Kowacie Reeves Jr. and Lamar Washington each chipped in 20-plus points in the outing.

Georgia Tech got off to a slow start and was held to just 33.3 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes to Miami’s 50.0 percent effort from the floor. After trailing by double-digits early, the Yellow Jackets attacked their deficit and closed the gap to within seven points, 31-24, following a Chas Kelley III three-pointer at 6:04, but the Hurricanes would maintain their lead into intermission. Miami led by as many as 14 in the first half and shot 50.0 percent from the field to hold a 47-33 halftime lead.

It was a tale of two halves as Georgia Tech shot 56.7 percent from the field in the second half and trimmed its deficit to five points down the stretch. The Hurricanes maintained their double-digit lead until Baye Ndongo and Reeves strung together a 6-0 spurt to cut the score to 77-72 with 4:13 to play. The Jackets would come within five twice more in the final minutes, but a three-pointer from Tre Donaldson with 39.7 seconds on the clock put Miami in front, 88-77. Tech would not come any closer as Miami kept its home record unblemished.

For the second time this season, the Yellow Jackets had two players score 20 points as Reeves tallied 23 and Washington added 21. Washington finished with a double-double, dishing out a game-high 12 assists, while going a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line.

Tre Donaldson led the Hurricanes with a game-high 27 points and was one of four in double-figures.

The Yellow Jackets return home to host Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.

POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

• Georgia Tech dropped to 10-7 overall and 1-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play with its second straight loss.
• Georgia Tech was held to a 33.3 percent shooting clip in the first half, its second lowest offensive first half percentage this season (lowest was 28.2 percent against Mississippi State).
• The Yellow Jackets opened the game going 13-for-13 from the free throw line before Akai Fleming missed the back half of a pair. Tech went into the halftime locker room 13-of-14 from the charity stripe (92.9%). It was Tech’s best first half free throw percentage this season.
• Tech finished 23-for-27 at the charity stripe (85.2%), marking its best performance at the stripe in Atlantic Coast Conference play thus far. It is also the second-highest for the season.
• After committing 12 first half turnovers, the Jackets had only two miscues in the second half to finish with 14. The Jackets recorded 18 assists, paced by Lamar Washington’s 12, for its 13^th game owning more assists than turnovers this season.
• Georgia Tech won the rebounding battle, 32-31. Baye Ndongo led the Jackets with seven boards, followed by Reeves and Washington each with six.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Senior Lamar Washington logged his fourth double-double of the season, and seventh of his career, with 21 points and 12 assists. It was his fifth double-double on points and assists in his career. He led the Yellow Jackets with 12 first half points. Washington’s 12 assists marked a season-high and was his third game this season with 10 or more.
• Washington went 10-for-10 at the free throw line for his season-best performance.
• Redshirt-senior Kowacie Reeves Jr. recorded his sixth 20-point game this season, and ninth of his career, finishing with 23 points (matching his career-high). The double-figure performance extended Reeves’ streak to nine-straight dating back to Dec. 3 versus Mississippi State.
• Baye Ndongo added another double-figure performance to his season resume, contributing 16 points.
• Mouhamed Sylla returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games to injury.