Virginia Tech Sends Georgia Tech to Third Straight Loss, Eighth In Last Nine Games

Georgia Tech will be back at home on Tuesday night against No. 3 North Carolina

Georgia Tech's record might not necessarily reflect it, but they have been a competitive team in nearly every game they have played this year. Even against some of the better teams on their schedule, the Yellow Jackets have played well and just needed to learn how to put together complete games. 

Today was not one of those days though. Georgia Tech went on the road as a 9.5-point underdog and got dominated for most of the game. The offense struggled mightily in the first half and after a run in the second half to cut into the lead, Virginia Tech responded and put Georgia Tech away. 

Nait George, Miles Kelly, Kowacie Reeves, Baye Ndongo, and Ibrahima Sacko were the first five on the floor for the Yellow Jackets. Damon Stoumdaire has been rotating Sacko and Ebenezer Dowuona this season at the last starting spot and opted to roll with Sacko today. 

From the start of this game, Georgia Tech was having a hard time scoring the basketball. The defense was not much better, but the offense could not find any sort of rhythm. Virginia Tech raced out to a 20-10 lead halfway through the first half and then another three from the Hokies capped off an 8-0 run to push the lead to 23-10. Georgia Tech was in the midst of a scoring drought and had not scored in more than three minutes. 

At the next timeout with 7:38 left, Virginia Tech led 27-14 and had hit 5 of their last seven shots, while Georgia Tech had missed two of their last 11. Virginia Tech would build upon that lead leading into the half and Georgia Tech trailed 44-28 at halftime. 

The numbers from the first half were ugly for Georgia Tech. They were shooting 29% from the field and 28% from three. Carter Murphy and Tyzhaun Claude had six points each. Nait George had three points on 1-6 shooting and Kowacie Reeves was 0-5. 

Virginia Tech was shooting 52% from the field and 36% from three. 

Georgia Tech guard Miles Kelly vs Virginia Tech / Georgia Tech Athletics

While the second half did not start out well for Georgia Tech, they were able to find a way to crawl back into this one. 

With 11:48 to go in the game, Georgia Tech trailed by 14 but was playing better on the offensive end of the court. After the timeout was through, the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to nine, the first time it had been under double digits since early in the game. 

Virginia Tech led 64-57 and the Hokies were the ones having offensive issues this half. They had not scored a point in nearly five minutes and Georgia Tech had the momentum. 

Then Virginia Tech took it all back and effectively ended the game. 

Three straight three-pointers from the Hokies and then another basket to make it an 11-0 run. The lead was suddenly 18 points and the game was too far out of reach for Georgia Tech. Just when it looked like they were making a run, the Hokies punched back and ended the game. It was Georgia Tech's third straight loss and eighth in their last nine games. It was another frustrating loss for Damon Stoudamire in a season that is filled with plenty of them. 

Virginia Tech won the game by a score of 91-67. 

For the game, Georgia Tech shot 38% from the field and 36% from three. The Hokies shot 55% from the field and 44% from three. Ndongo (16) and Kelly (11) were the only players for Georgia Tech to score in double-figures. 

The Yellow Jackets have not been blown out in many games this year, but today was as close to domination as it could get for Virginia Tech. 

It is not going to get any easier for Georgia Tech. No. 3 North Carolina comes to Atlanta on Tuesday night and the Tar Heels are playing like the best team in the country right now. It is going to be the biggest test of the season for Stoudamire and his team. Tip off for that game is set for 7:00 p.m. 

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