Shorthanded Jackets fall short in comeback bid at FSU 91-78

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Georgia Tech traveled down to Florida State aiming to get off the mat after several tough ACC losses but came up short in a comeback bid losing 91-78 to the Noles. The Jackets fell to 8-11 overall and 2-6 in ACC play while FSU improved to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in league play with the win.

Tech entered the game without starters Kowacie Reeves and Luke O’Brien who have both been out for weeks with foot injuries and backup guard turned starter Jaeden Mustaf was also out with an ankle injury thinning the Jackets to a six-man rotation against a deep Florida State team.

“I’m proud of the team and proud of my guys. I thought they played hard and gave themselves a chance to win the game. We had more assists than turnovers against a team that prides themselves on forcing turnovers. I know all the obstacles we are facing, but I’m not into all of that. But what I’m proud of is those guys went out there and played hard and we took hits and it was a really fun game to watch,” Stoudamire said. “Sometimes you see your team growing in those moments and guys are giving all they have and that is a testament to them. I’m happy they are fighting and we are going to get some payback for it.”

Senior guard Lance Terry battled through a hand injury to lead all scorers with 23 points on 9-17 shooting. Terry was 7-9 in the second half with 17 of his 23 points.

Terry after a slow start said adrenaline kicked in and carried him in the second half despite playing through pain.

“I just kept playing hard and that adrenaline kicked in toward the end and I’m continuing to try to play hard despite how I was feeling,” Terry said.

Guard Javian McCollum and forward Duncan Powell each added 20 points as well with Powell providing his points off the bench in 33 minutes. McCollum did all of his damage in the second half with 18 of his 20 points coming on 4-8 shooting from three.

Big man Baye Ndongo was a non-factor offensively but provided 12 rebounds for the Jackets.

Tech only had 12 turnovers in the game and had 13 assists on 26 made field goals marking the first game in several that the Jackets finished on the positive side of the assist-to-turnover ratio.

Taylor Bol Bowen led FSU with 20 points in 28 minutes of action on 7-9 shooting with three made threes on five attempts. FSU shot 52.2 percent for the game and 9-27 from three.

Malik Ewin and Jamir Watkins each had 17 points for the Noles with Ewin posting a double-double

Second-chance points were the big difference maker. Florida State had 20 second-chance points on 12 offensive boards, while Tech had just 12 second-chance points on 10 offensive boards.

The Jackets started very slowly, shooting just 25.9 percent in the first half and 2-14 from three with 7 turnovers. Florida State was more consistent, shooting 44.1 percent and 5-17 from three to put up a 13-point first-half lead over the Jackets.

“I thought we came out in the first half with a lot of energy and created some easy baskets and I thought we were playing elite defense and our offense was a little spotty. In the second half they scored 50-something points and after not being able to score much in the second half. That says a lot about the growth we need to be making and be effective for the whole 40 minutes,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Hamilton was impressed with the Jackets’ performance given how shorthanded Tech is at the moment.

“It says a lot about the relationship they have with each other and the coach to keep them motivated. We went through a stretch with unbelievable injuries and it is hard to play in the ACC with six players. You have to play hard and defend and stay out of foul trouble. You aren’t quite as aggressive and now you are playing cautious and they kept coming back, it says a lot about them. They have four guys who shoot 40% from three when they get into the lane and spray the ball to guys. When we were better defensively we held them in check, then sometimes you fail and they hit some uncontested threes,” Hamilton said.

Tech returns home to play the other Tech, Virginia Tech on Wednesday night in McCamish Pavilion before a week break.

Georgia Tech dug an early hole trailing 15-4 at the first media timeout after a 1-8 start shooting. The Jackets maintained a solid deficit trailing 26-10 at the U-8 media timeout. Tech trailed by 13 at the break 37-24

Tech opened the second half with a 10-0 run to cut the FSU lead to three, 37-34 in the first two minutes of the half. The Noles pushed back out by eight at the first media timeout of the second half with 15:40 left in the game, 42-34. Ibrahim Souare picked up his fourth foul with 13:43 left in the game. Ndongo picked up his fourth foul with 9:24 left in the game and the Jackets down 58-51. Stoudamire used a timeout with 7:54 left after Tech gave up a 6-0 run after cutting FSU’s lead to six down 65-55. Tech cut the lead to six 69-63 but Ndongo fouled out on the other end of the court fouling Taylor Bol Bowen on a desperation three. Tech ten missed four straight free throws as the Noles pushed the lead back to 11, 77-66 with four minutes to play. The Noles closed the game with a 16-3 run