Georgia Tech’s late rally not enough to beat Virginia Tech

Georgia Tech nearly made a miraculous rally from a 15-point deficit late in their game against Virginia Tech Tuesday. But the Hokies were able to hang on for a 71-65 victory over the Yellow Jackets in an ACC matchup in Blacksburg.

Despite a defense that held the Hokies to just 34% from the field, the Yellow Jackets’ offense was unable to overcome a poor shooting performance from the perimeter, as they went just 3-for-17 from 3-point range.

Jaeden Mustaf posted a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for Georgia Tech (11-10, 2-6 ACC). Baye Ndongo scored 14 points, Lamar Washington added 12 points and Kam Craft had 11 points.

Ben Hammond scored 20 points and Jailen Bedford scored 14 points for Virginia Tech (16-6, 5-4 ACC). Virginia Tech reserve Christian Gurdak scored 11 points and Tobi Lawal 10 before fouling out.

Surprisingly, the Yellow Jackets outshot Virginia Tech 44% to 34%, but the Hokies made up for the shooting deficit and outscored Georgia Tech 24-9 from 3-point range.

Lawal made two foul shots to give Virginia Tech a 65-50 lead with 4:26 remaining before Georgia Tech went on an 11-0 run to get within four points after Washington drove the lane uncontested for a layup with 1:09 left.

Neoklis Avdalas made 1 of 2 foul shots for a 66-61 lead before Ndongo reduced the deficit to three with a layup with 29 seconds left.

Bedford made 1 of 2 for a 67-63 lead, Washington followed with a layup with 19 seconds left and the Yellow Jackets never got closer.

Hammond and Bedford each made two foul shots to seal it.

Hammond’s 3-pointer with 13:59 remaining gave the Hokies their first double-digit lead at 50-40. He followed that 23-foot shot with a 24-footer less than a minute later to stretch the lead to 13.

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