Georgia Tech will play another day.
After three consecutive first-day exits at ACC tournaments, all by 16 points or more, the Yellow Jackets earned the right to stay in town with a 73-70 overtime win over Boston College on Wednesday night. Tech won its first ACC tournament since it reached the finals of the tournament in the 2009-10 season.
“We’ve won three straight against Georgia; we’ve beaten some ranked opponents on the road. Now one thing that wasn’t out there was to advance in the ACC tournament,” coach Brian Gregory said.
In a matchup of the No. 11 (Tech) and No. 14 (Boston College) seeds, Tech led 61-49 with five minutes to go after a pair of free throws by forward Robert Carter. Then, at the end of a game that was delayed first by an inoperative shot-clock buzzer and later when the lights went out and caused a 10-minute stoppage, the Jackets made things interesting.
Boston College finished regulation on a 13-1 run to tie the score at 62-62 and send the game to overtime. It was a repeat of a weakness the Jackets have shown at times this season, letting double-digit leads slip away with offensive lapses.
In the extra period, Tech fell behind by two points on two different occasions, the last at 67-65 with 1:56 to go. But the Jackets took the lead for good on a three-point play by guard Trae Golden on a drive to the basket and ensuing free throw with 35.3 seconds left for a 69-67 lead. Tech was able to protect its lead the rest of the way, as forward Kammeon Holsey made all four of his free throws in the final 14.7 seconds.
Once the game was in hand, the Jackets’ contingent behind the team bench stood to clap and cheer, former coach Bobby Cremins among them.
In overtime, Tech held Boston College scoreless from the 1:56 mark until the final seconds, when the Eagles scored an inconsequential 3-pointer.
“Our guys have not stopped fighting,” Gregory said. “They have shown, at times, unbelievable toughness and grit and unbelievable togetherness in some adversity.”
One who was not among the Tech traveling party was team dentist Aaron King, who did not travel with the team as he recovers from a surgical procedure. It was the first time that King, who has attended to the Tech football and men’s basketball teams since 1965, missed a Tech game in the ACC tournament. Gregory paid tribute to him in his remarks after the game.
Tech (16-16) returned to .500 for the first time since it was 13-13 and lost to Clemson on Feb. 22. The Jackets will play the Tigers at 9 p.m. Thursday in a second-round game. Tech lost both games to Clemson this season, extending its losing streak to the Tigers to nine games.
Boston College (8-24) ended its season with its third loss to Tech this season. The Jackets gained a measure of revenge after the Eagles blew them out last year in the tournament’s first round behind 41 points from guard Olivier Hanlan.
Tech failed to execute in the closing minutes of regulation. On consecutive possessions, Golden missed on a drive, forward Marcus Georges-Hunt missed a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock ran down, Carter made one of two free throws with 33.5 seconds left and the score tied at 61-61. Hanlan also made one of two with 5.2 seconds left.
On the final possession of regulation, Golden dribbled hard upcourt to the rim but could not get a shot off at the basket, as time expired with the ball on the floor.
