Irish Find Offensive Rhythm In Second Half To Take Down Georgia Tech 68-59
Notre Dame (11-3, 1-0) scored 45 second half points to overcome a 28-23 halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech (6-7, 0-1) 68-59 Saturday afternoon to open ACC play.
Both teams struggled to score in the first half, but it was Mike Brey's group that found a rhythm offensively in the final 20 minutes to pull off the win.
Here is a half-by-half recap of the Irish win. Full box score can be FOUND HERE.
FIRST HALF
Both teams started 0-2 from the floor before connecting on their third attempts with the Yellow Jackets getting a jumper by big man Ben Lammers and the Irish a three-pointer by guard TJ Gibbs.
Yellow Jackets guard Josh Okogie answered with his own three before Irish forward Bonzie Colson connected on a basket to tie it at five apiece.
Lammers connected on another jumper to give the Yellow Jackets a 7-5 lead with 16:30 remaining in the half. On the inbounds, big man Martinas Geben was trying to find senior point guard Matt Farrell, who had turned his head causing a turnover. Georgia Tech capitalized getting a basket from guard Brandon Alston.
Georgia Tech took a 9-5 lead at the first media timeout (15:31).
Both teams struggled over the next four minutes with the Yellow Jackets hitting a scoreless stretch of 4:41 while the Irish couldn’t muster a bucket over a 2:25 period. At the under-12 media timeout (11:39), Georgia Tech held a 9-7 advantage.
Sophomore big man John Mooney and sophomore guard Nik Djogo were the first two off the bench for Mike Brey’s group.
At the 11:39 mark, the Irish were 3-of-10 (30 percent) from the floor while Georgia Tech was 4-of-13 (30.8 percent). Colson (4) and Gibbs (3) had all of the team’s points.
After a free throw from Djogo to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 9-8, Georgia Tech went on a 6-0 run to push its lead to 15-8 with 9:55 left in the half.
The teams traded baskets over the next three-plus minutes with the Irish two three-pointers from Farrell and buckets via Colson and Geben to close the gap to 22-18 with 6:25 remaining. Colson and Farrell had amassed six points each to lead Notre Dame’s scoring efforts.
At the under-8 media timeout, Notre Dame had made its last four attempts while Georgia Tech was five of its last seven.
Pflueger converted an and-one opportunity after knocking down a jumper for both team’s only scoring over the next 2:44. Georgia Tech extended its scoreless streak to 3:54 to allow the Irish to close the gap.
Josh Pastner’s group held a 22-21 lead with 3:41 left. Alston made a free throw to start what was a 6-0 Georgia Tech run to push the team’s lead to 28-21 with 31 seconds remaining. Colson got a layup to fall after Djogo was blocked at the rim with time running out. Georgia Tech took a 28-23 lead into the break.
Both leads made just one of their last eight attempts to close out a sloppy half offensively for both programs. Georgia Tech shot 10-of-26 overall (38.5 percent) while Notre Dame finished 9-of-27 (33.3 percent).
Colson had eight points to lead the Irish while Farrell contributed six. Okogie had eight for the Yellow Jackets while Tadric Jackson notched seven to complement.
Georgia Tech was 5-of-11 from the free throw line, but forced seven Irish turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action.
SECOND HALF
Notre Dame came out strong after the break going an 8-0 run to take a 31-28 lead with 17:55 remaining thanks to a three-pointer by Gibbs, basket by Geben and a three-point play from Colson.
The Yellow Jackets briefly retook the lead after a dunk by Lammers and a layup from Jackson (32-31). The Irish responded with an 8-2 run behind four points from Colson, an ally-oop to Mooney and a layup from Gibbs.
At the first media timeout, Notre Dame held a 39-34 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining. Colson (15 points, 11 rebounds) already put together a double-double performance.
The Irish started the half 7-of-15 from the floor while Georgia Tech was 3-of-9. Both teams couldn’t muster up a basket over the next minute before the under-12 media timeout.
Pflueger opened the scoring after the break with a three-pointer to give Notre Dame its largest lead 42-34 with 11:55 left. Georgia Tech followed with baskets from guard Tadric Jackson and guard Jose Alvarado to cut the lead to 42-38.
The Irish followed with four free throws by Colson and another three-pointer via Pflueger to counter a jumper by Jackson to extend the Irish lead to 49-40 with 9:36 left. A thunderous dunk by Geben pushed the Notre Dame to 7-0 and the lead to 51-40.
At the under-8 media timeout, Notre Dame held a 51-40 lead with 7:49 left. The Irish held Georgia Tech scoreless for 2:25 leading up to that timeout to help extend its lead.
Notre Dame continue to hold a double-digit advantage over the next several minutes taking a 61-50 lead with under three minutes to go. Geben and Colson each scored four points to help keep the Yellow Jackets at bay. The Irish had a 63-53 lead after three-straight points by Alvarado.
A dunk by Geben put Notre Dame back up 12 (65-53) with just under a minute to go. The Irish would hold on to claim a 68-59 win over the Yellow Jackets to open ACC play with a 1-0 record.
Colson finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds (tied career-high) to lead all scorers. Geben (12), Pflueger (11), Farrell (10) and Gibbs (10) rounded out the top scorers for the Irish. Pflueger also added seven rebounds and six assists (tied career-high).
Notre Dame shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33) in the second half while holding Georgia Tech to 13-of-34 (38.2 percent). The Irish won the rebounding total 45-34 including 13-9 on the offensive glass.
Okogie finished with 16 points while Jackson added 15 and Lammers notched a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds).
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