North Carolina 81, Georgia Tech 49
A brief recap of the Yellow Jackets’ 81-49 loss against the Tar Heels at McCamish Pavilion on Tuesday night:
How the game was won: As was the case in the first meeting, North Carolina put the game out of reach early. An 11-0 run fed by Tech turnovers and three consecutive 3-pointers by the Tar Heels pushed their advantage to 27-11 with 7:31 to go. Tech had chances to minimize the damage, but torched its chances with 11 turnovers in 36 first-half possessions and 0-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. North Carolina led 39-21 at the half and was not challenged the rest of the way.
Turning point: Forward Marcus Georges-Hunt, Tech's leading scorer and best player, suffered an injury to his right foot about three minutes into the game. He did not return. Tech was also without forward Quinton Stephens (abdominal strain) and had to give minutes to little-used freshman Abdoulaye Gueye and walk-on Brooks Doyle.
Number: 25. The number of points that the Tar Heels scored off Tech's 18 turnovers.
Next: The Jackets' regular season is complete. They'll play a first-round game of the ACC tournament Tuesday in Greensboro, N.C.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
