Field Level Media
Jan 22, 2019
Georgia Tech got a combined 29 points and 18 rebounds from its inside duo of James Banks and Abdoulaye Gueye and survived a late Notre Dame comeback to defeat the visiting Irish 63-31 on Tuesday.
Banks had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Gueye tallied 13 points and eight rebounds to help the Yellow Jackets (11-8, 3-3 ACC) break a two-game losing streak.
Point guard Jose Alvarado added 16 points and Michael Devoe scored 11.
Notre Dame (11-8, 1-5 ACC) was led by John Mooney with 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Nate Laszewski, who scored 19 and made four 3-point baskets.
Georgia Tech led by 11 points with 5:08 remaining, but Notre Dame cut the margin to two points with a 10-1 run. The Irish had two chances to tie the score, but
D.J. Harvey missed a shot and was called for an offensive foul on the next possession. Tech scored on a Gueye dunk to re-establish a four-point lead and held on.
Georgia Tech got two starters back from injury and it made a big difference. Gueye missed two games with an "unspecified medical condition," and point guard and leading scorer Alvarado missed one game with a groin injury. Their absence was obvious in Saturday's 79-51 loss to Louisville.
Georgia Tech had the momentum early in the first and seized a nine-point lead when Devoe drained a 3-pointer to make it 13-4 at 14:07. The Irish, thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Laszewski, clawed back and tied it 26-26 on Mooney's layup. Notre Dame led 30-28 at halftime.
The margin in the second half never exceeded two points until Tech's Khalid Moore drained a 3-pointer to make it 46-42 with 10:31 left, then Gueye hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to 47-42.
A big moment came with 7:19 when Notre Dame coach Mike Brey was issued a technical foul for arguing a foul call. Alvarado made the two free throws and
Georgia Tech outscored the Irish 11-3 to hold an 11-point lead with 5:08 remaining.
Entering Tuesday's game, the average margin of victory over the last 10 games was 4.9 points. The home team has held serve in the series since 2015, when the Irish won in Atlanta.
On Saturday, Georgia Tech travels to No. 2-ranked Duke and Notre Dame hosts No. 3 Virginia.
--Field Level Media