Georgia Tech Upsets No. 12 Miami and Picks Up Its First ACC Win Of The Season

Lance Terry powers Georgia Tech to a 76-70 win over No. 12 Miami

Jackson Caudell | Jan 4, 2023

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Georgia Tech came into the night 0-3 in ACC and each loss was by double digits. With star player Isaiah Wong and the No. 12 Miami Hurricanes coming to town, it was possible that the Yellow Jackets were going to start 0-4 in conference play.

Lance Terry and Georgia Tech had other plans though.

Georgia Tech led by as many as 12 in the first half, but saw that lead slip away in the second half. The Yellow Jackets looked to be facing another defeat trailing by six with less than five minutes left, but a 12-0 run sparked an upset in Atlanta and now Georgia Tech has gotten its first ACC win of the season.

Georgia Tech started Terry, Miles Kelly, Deebo Coleman, Rodney Howard, and Jalon Moore tonight against the Hurricanes and Terry wound up having his best game of the season.

The first half went Georgia Tech's way and Miami had a tough time keeping up. Miami has one of the best offenses in the country, but three-point defense is a point of strength for this Georgia Tech squad. After leading by as much as 12, Miami went on a run to cut the lead to only four and that was with their star player not playing well. Georgia Tech did not score in the last 2:36 in the first half and had three turnovers in that span.

The Yellow Jackets shot 47% in the first half and 50% from three-point range in the first half while Miami shot 39% and 27% from three. Georgia Tech did a brilliant job guarding Miami on the perimeter and keeping this high-scoring team in check. Kelly led the way with 14 points for Tech and Terry had 12. Georgia Tech held Wong to three points on 1-8 shooting in the first half. G

Georgia Tech held Miami star Isaiah Wong to three points in the first half / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Things did not start off well in the 2nd half for Georiga Tech. Miami battled back from down six and tied the game and from there, it would be a back-and-forth affair between the Yellow Jackets and the Hurricanes.

With the game tied at 55, Miami went on a 15-9 run to take their lead up to six with less than five minutes remaining. Georgia Tech was going to need to make a big run at the end of this game to avoid falling to 0-4 to start ACC play.

The last 4:50 of the game was completely owned by the Yellow Jackets. Miami could not buy a bucket and did not score the rest of the game and with 1:23 left in the game, Deivon Smith was able to put Georgia Tech ahead for good with a layup that made it 72-70. Georgia Tech hit their free throws and pulled off the huge upset in Atlanta.

GEORGIA TECH UPSETS NO. 12 MIAMI 🔥

The Yellow Jackets grab their first ACC win with a big performance at home 😤 pic.twitter.com/H8oFaqTiNI
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 5, 2023

For the game, Georgia Tech shot 41% from the field and 38% from three. The offense has not been great this season but came in clutch tonight when needed. Terry led all scorers in the game with 24, Kelly had 20 points, and Coleman finished with 14 points.

The Yellow Jackets were able to win the rebound advantage as well, 46-36. The biggest blemish for Georgia Tech in this game is the number of turnovers they had. The Yellow Jackets finished with 15 turnovers compared to Miami's seven and coming off of a 23-turnover performance against Virginia, that is not an encouraging sign. That will need to change going forward in future games.

Georgia Tech held Miami to 35% shooting from the field and a ghastly 16% from three-point range. The Hurricanes finished the game shooting 5-32 from three. Miami missed their last six shots of the game and were one for their last nine.

Miami is no longer undefeated in ACC play and Georgia Tech is now 1-3. The next game for the Seminoles will be on the road against Florida State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Florida State is 4-11 this season and 2-2 in ACC play.

Huge win for head coach Josh Pastner and the Yellow Jackets. Let's see if they can build off of the momentum that they have created tonight.

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