Georgia Tech lets one slip away against Virginia Tech

ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech gave one away Saturday afternoon.

The Yellow Jackets led by 15 in the second half and led by 10 points with 4:32 left to play but wound up surrendering the lead and falling 78-77 to Virginia Tech at McCamish Pavilion.

Georgia Tech led 74-64 with 4:32 left after Marcus Georges-Hunt converted a three-point play. The senior was on his way to scoring a career-high 27 points, his sixth game with more than 20 points this season.

But things melted down in the final four minutes. Forward Charles Mitchell threw away the ball on back-to-back plays and Josh Heath turned it over twice, plays that changed the momentum and sparked the Hokies to a 14-3 run to finish the game.

The loss dropped Georgia Tech to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in the ACC.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Georges-Hunt: The senior made 11-of-18 from the field, including 2-for-4 on 3-pointers, and added four rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes. Georges-Hunt's previous best was 25 against Charlotte in 2014 and against North Carolina in the ACC opener earlier this month.

Nick Jacobs: The senior came off the bench and scored 15 points, hitting 7-of-11 from the floor, and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, with one blocked shot. Jacobs has averaged 14 points in the past three games, most of them on short hooks around the basket.

Adam Smith: The senior had a horrible game against his former team. Smith made just 2-of-13 from the field, including just 1-for-7 on 3-pointers, for five points. It broke a streak of eight consecutive games in double-figures and was his second-lowest output of the year.

TURNING POINT

With 4:32 left, Georges-Hunt had converted a three-point play and pushed the lead to 10 points. The game seemed almost in hand, even more so when Virginia Tech's Kerry Blackshear Jr. missed a layup and Mitchell grabbed the rebound. But Mitchell threw the outlet pass directly to Justin Robinson, who scored. Mitchell got lazy on the succeeding inbound pass and threw it to Virginia Tech's Seth Allen, who was fouled and made two free throws to make it a six-point game with 4:08 left.

OBSERVATIONS

Look who's starting: Georgia Tech started Quinton Stephens, Mitchell and James White at forward, Smith at guard and Georges-Hunt at point guard. The first wave of substitutions came at 15:21 and included Josh Heath, Ben Lammers and Jacobs.

Yellow Jackets enjoy block party: Georgia Tech blocked seven shots in the first half, with Lammers and White each getting three. Lammers finished with four and Georgia Tech totaled 10. It was the second-most of the season for Georgia Tech, which had 12 against Tennessee.

Sending Hokies to the line: The Yellow Jackets could not stop Virginia Tech's dribble penetration in the second half without fouling. The Hokies went to the line 27 times in the second half and made 23. They outscored the Yellow Jackets 28-9 from the line and 23-3 in the second half. Virginia Tech's Seth Allen was 11-for-13 from the line.

THEY SAID IT

Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams on the victory: "I think we're incredibly fortunate to win. I thought they just dominated us in the first half."

Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory on the late turnovers: "The 13 turnovers is too many for us. That's not who we are. It's not who we've been. It's not like we haven't faced pressure. We had a couple of critical ones at the end, not from the post but from the guard play. You can't have those in the last 4½ minutes. It puts you in a tough spot defensively."

Georges-Hunt on losing the 10-point lead: "You don't know what's going through guys' heads. You could see it ... loose with the ball, missing easy layups. That's all on us. The coaches can't do it for us. We're out there playing."

UP NEXT

Georgia Tech doesn't play again until Saturday when it hosts Louisville.

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 8:24 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech lets one slip away against Virginia Tech ."