Georgia Tech struggles in second half of loss to Stanford

After staying close to Stanford for a half on Saturday, Georgia Tech’s offense and defense both struggled in the second half, as the Cardinal pulled away for a convincing 95-72 victory in an ACC matchup.

Ebuka Okorie scored a career-high 40 points to help Stanford end a five-game losing streak.

Akai Fleming scored 19 points to lead Georgia Tech (11-13, 2-9 ACC), which has lost five straight games. Baye Ndongo added 14 points and Jaeden Mustaf scored 13.

Georgia Tech closed the first half on a 12-5 run to pull to 43-39 at the break. The Yellow Jackets shot 52% overall in the first half but the Cardinal hit four more buckets from beyond the arc (7-of-16).

Okorie shot 12-of-21 from the floor, made three 3-pointers and all 13 of his free-throw attempts. He surpassed his previous high of 36 points scored in the Cardinal’s 95-90 win against then-No. 14 North Carolina on Jan. 14.

Jeremy Dent-Smith added 16 points for Stanford (15-9, 4-7), which shot 54% overall (33-of-61).

Stanford opened the second half on a 13-4 run to stretch its lead to 56-43. Georgia Tech pulled to 62-55 with 11:26 left but didn’t get closer.

The Yellow Jackets shot just 35% from the field in the second half, while the defense gave up 52 points on 63% shooting by the Cardinal in the second half.

Up next

Georgia Tech hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday.