Georgia Tech Falls Just Short Against #2 Duke

It's Tech's 13th straight loss to the Blue Devils.

The #2 Duke Blue Devils (14-1, 4-0 ACC) might have emerged victorious against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-8, 2-3 ACC) down at McCamish Pavilion, but Coach K's squad had to fight tooth and nail for it. Winning their previous 2 games by a combined 72 points, the Jackets were a single possession within upsetting the Blue Devils in the final three minutes, inevitably falling 73-64.

"I think they can play with anybody," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said about Georgia Tech. "That's a big time win for us."

A normally dominant team down low in the post, Duke found themselves with their hands full numerous times against the Jackets. Senior center James Banks III and junior forward Moses Wright combined for 30 points and 25 rebounds, with Banks III setting a career high in boards with 15, and coming just 3 blocks away from a triple double. The Jackets actually out-rebounded Duke 39-30, and was especially dominant on the offensive side of the glass, hauling in 16 offensive rebounds as opposed to Duke's 7.

In the first 6 minutes of the contest, Georgia Tech was without question the more dominant team on the floor. They placed an early emphasis on their post play on both ends of the floor, going 6-7 from the field while Duke was just 2-9.

However as the half progressed, Duke started to make more outside shots, forcing Tech to space the floor more on defense. The opposite effect was transpiring on the other end of the floor, as the Jackets could not sink any threes. In the final 14 minutes of the first half, Tech went 4-21 while the Blue Devils proceeded to go 15-23. As a result, a once 8 point Yellow Jacket lead turned into an 11 point deficit.

However that did not deter Pastner's squad. A quick 7-2 run pulled them within 4, then an 11 point run highlighted by trifecta of threes gave them a momentary lead against the cream of the crop in the ACC. Unfortunately, what did the Jackets in was simple attrition. They has spent so much energy mounting a comeback out of halftime that when it came down to the wire, there was nothing left in the tank.

"It's just hard to get yourself down against a good team like this," Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said.

Next up, Georgia Tech will go back on the road for a matchup against the Boston College Eagles in Chestnut Hill, MA. Tip is set for 6:00pm EST, and will be televised on the ACC Network.

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