Georgia Tech Holds On To Beat Notre Dame 74-69
Jan 11, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Chris Bolden (11) moves to the basket past Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard/forward Pat Connaughton (24) in the second half at Hank McCamish Pavilion. Georgia Tech won 74-69. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Georgia Tech used an excellent game from Trae Golden to take down Notre Dame 74-69, and pick up their first ACC victory of the season earlier today.
The Jackets opened up the game on a 17-4 run thanks to the team’s up-beat tempo and Trae Golden really pushing the ball every chance he could get. Georgia Tech led the rest of the half, but Notre Dame was able to bring the lead back to two just two points at two different points. The Jackets ended the first half up 39-35 after Golden drove to the basket, drew a foul and knocked down his two free throws.
The Jackets started off the second half just as hot as they started the first, and moved to a 54-39 lead within seven minutes of the last twenty. However, Notre Dame would come up with a big run of their own and went on a 13-0 run to pull the deficit back to two. The remainder of the game was extremely close and the Irish took a one-point lead with 1:15 left after a layup by Garrick Sherman. But, Golden came up big yet again with a three-pointer on the next possession to reclaim the lead–one Georgia Tech would hold for the last seconds of the game.
Golden’s performance was really impressive for most of the game, and like I mentioned above, he was being aggressive with the ball and getting the team out in transition. At times, he may have been a bit too aggressive with the ball, but with four turnovers for the entire game, I don’t think you can knock on him too much. He finished the game with 20 points and four assists and shot an efficient 8-11 from the field. He was effective from three-point range as well, hitting two of his three shots from behind the arc.
Georgia Tech held Notre Dame to well below their averages from the field and the three point line, and that wound up being a big factor–in addition to the Irish going to the line just nine times. The Jackets held Notre Dame to 40 percent from the field (compared to a season average of 40 percent) and just 25 percent from three-point land (compared to 38.8 percent on the season).
Daniel Miller had another great game for the Jackets. He had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
After starting off conference play 0-2, this was a big win at home for Georgia Tech. While Notre Dame might not be the class of the conference, they did beat Duke, and they shoot and move the ball very well. They’ve got a couple home games coming up where they could continue to build this momentum before a tough five-game stretch on the road.