Georgia Tech holds on to beat Northwestern, 66-58

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-1) scored one for the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 66-58 win over Northwestern in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday evening.

The Jackets started off fast with 20-2 run to open the game. However, the Wildcats followed that with their own 11-2 run which brought the game within nine points in a hurry. Still, Chris Collins’ club could not get much closer for most of the game.

Georgia Tech, for most of the game, kept the Wildcats at a 8-to-12 point distance on the scoreboard. Then, with about four minutes left in the game, Northwestern was able to chip away at the lead and even get within one point with just 1:22 remaining. Tech got a big lay-up from Josh Heath with 0:55 left and some clutch free throws from Chris Bolden down the stretch for the Jackets to ice the game.

Northwestern was led by a strong performance inside by center Alex Olah, with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Wildcats also got 14 points and 7 boards from guard Tre Demps.

The Jackets had three players in double figures, and they were paced by Charles Mitchell’s 13 points. Georgia Tech also got strong games from guard Josh Heath and forward Robert Sampson.

Next up for Georgia Tech is a home game against South Carolina Upstate on December 6 at 12:00 pm, when the Yellow Jackets will be aiming for a fourth consecutive victory.