National Basketball Association
Syracuse 90, Georgia Tech 61
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 4, 2017
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York
Officials:
# Clarence Armstrong, # Evan Burroughs, # Brian Dorsey
Attendance:
30448
By The Sports Xchange
Andrew White scored a career-high 40 points and Syracuse may have found its way into the NCAA Tournament with Saturday's 90-61 Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Syracuse, N.Y.
White, one of five Syracuse seniors honored on Senior Day, had shot 8-for-36 from 3-point range in the previous four games and had been held to just seven points in Syracuse's previous two games against Duke and Louisville. But he shot 8 of 9 from beyond the arc and 12 of 16 overall as he returned to the form that made him the ACC's most dangerous 3-point shooter before his four-game slump.
Freshman Tyus Battle was 4 of 7 from 3-point range and scored 22 points for Syracuse, while John Gillon added 10 points and 10 assists with three turnovers.
Josh Okogie led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points and Quinton Stephens chipped in with 12. Ben Lammers, who scored 23 points with seven rebounds and seven blocks in Georgia Tech's 71-65 win over Syracuse on Feb. 19, recorded 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Most bracketologists have Syracuse and Georgia Tech on the NCAA bubble, so it would have been a severe blow to the Orange's chances to lose at home and get swept by the Yellow Jackets this season. In addition to improving their chances for an NCAA Tournament bid, the Orange (18-13, 10-8) clinched a first-round bye for next week's ACC Tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Georgia Tech (17-14, 8-10) will now have to play in Tuesday's first round of the ACC Tournament and will likely need to win a game or two in the tournament to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. Georgia Tech was looking to finish .500 in the ACC for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
Georgia Tech opened the second half with a 9-0 spurt that cut Syracuse's lead to 38-35. But White answered with a pair of 3-pointers, the second as the shot clock expired to give the Orange a 44-37 advantage. When the Yellow Jackets pulled within five on Josh Heath's 3-pointer, White responded again with a 3-pointer that increased the Orange lead to 52-44.
That 3-pointer sparked a 24-4 Syracuse run that featured four 3-pointers by White and one by John Gillon, who like White is a fifth-year senior transfer.
The Orange raced out to a 16-4 lead by making their first four 3-pointers, three by Battle and one by Taurean Thompson. The Yellow Jackets sliced Syracuse's lead to 18-11, but Battle scored four points in an 8-0 run that boosted the Orange's lead to 28-13. Georgia Tech scored the last four points of the half and trailed 38-26 at the break.
Battle and White shot 8 for 13 overall and 4 of 7 from beyond the arc in the first half as they combined for 24 points. Georgia Tech shot 44 percent overall in the first half but made just 2 of 9 3-point attempts.
Top Game Performances
Georgia Tech |
|
Syracuse |
Josh Okogie 16 |
Scoring |
Andrew White III 40 |
Quinton Stephens 4 |
Assists |
John Gillon 10 |
Ben Lammers 9 |
Rebounds |
Tyler Lydon 13 |
Josh Okogie 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Andrew White III 8 |
Corey Heyward 2 |
Steals |
John Gillon 2 |
Ben Lammers 2 |
Blocks |
Tyler Lydon 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Georgia Tech
|
61 |
43.9 |
5-20 |
6-11 |
15 |
27 |
4 |
8 |
16 |
Syracuse
|
90 |
53.7 |
15-24 |
17-22 |
18 |
32 |
4 |
9 |
13 |