Georgia Tech comes up short against Notre Dame, 62-59

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets failed to close the deal at home against Notre Dame in a 62-59 loss to the 12th–ranked Fighting Irish. Brian Gregory’s team was not able to avenge their double-overtime defeat from two weeks ago, and in the loss, the Jackets fall to 0-4 in ACC Conference play.

The Yellow Jackets started the game off strong, and led the game for most of the first half. Georgia Tech took advantage of some sharp shooting from guard Chris Bolden, who was 3 for 3 from behind the arc and had 11 points off the bench. Brian Gregory’s ball club shot the ball well as a team, as they were 53% from the floor before the intermission, which allowed them to hold a 38-30 advantage over the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame took control of the game to start the second half and never fully relinquished it. The Irish opened up session with a 14-5 spurt to take over the game. The Jackets never was able to take control of the game after halftime but remained close with Notre Dame. Unlike the sharp shooting in the first half, Tech was only 6 for 23 shooting from the floor after the break. The Yellow Jackets had a few chances down the stretch to take lead as it was just a 1 point game for most of the final 4 minutes of the game. The Irish scored Jerian Grant jumper and Steve Vasturia lay up to seal the game up for the road team.

Notre Dame received a well balanced effort having 5 players score in double figures. They were led by guards Jerian Grant and Steve Vasturia, who had 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Despite a hot first half for Tech, Chris Bolden was limited to just two points after halftime and finished with 13 total points for the game. Forward Demarco Cox had a career high 17 points and added 7 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.

The next ACC contest for Georgia Tech is a road game against the Panthers of Pittsburgh on Saturday January 17. Stay tuned.