A slow first half and an incomplete attempt at a late-game rally saw Syracuse (13-6, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) lose to Georgia Tech (13-4, 2-2), 75-66,  Sunday afternoon at Hank McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. Sunday’s win was the Yellow Jackets’ first win over SU in program history.

The loss furthered SU’s road woes, falling to six losses on the road this season and juxtaposing a road winning percentage of just 40 percent alongside its flawless 9-0 record at home.

“Today was a hard game,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “It was a very physical basketball game, and Georgia Tech really took it to us in the paint.”

The Orange shot just 26.8 percent in the first half, falling behind the Yellow Jackets early as Georgia Tech posted a 34.4 percentage. SU guard Alexis Peterson managed to shoot just 4-of-15 in the first half, while Yellow Jacket guards Kaylan Pugh and Zaire O’Neil shot 70 percent, totaling 20 first-half points combined.

The SU defense played Georgia Tech tough in the first half, notching five blocks and five steals, but the Yellow Jackets punched right back, posting three blocks and five steals of their own.

“We didn’t compete, we didn’t play hard,” Hillsman said. “We didn’t come to the game with any sense of urgency.”

The second half began where it left off in the first, with the Orange struggling to find footing and the Yellow Jackets pouring on the lead. But in the third quarter, SU went on an 11-0 run to pull within three points of Georgia Tech with just over five minutes remaining in the frame.

From there the game became a back-and-forth battle, with the two sides staying close in points for the next ten minutes. With 5:24 left, the Orange tied up the contest, bringing the once lopsided game to an even keel.

“We gotta be able to play hard and compete,” Hillsman said. “And for us, you’ve just got to come out and compete.”

But the Yellow Jackets pulled away from the Orange late, as Isabella Slim missed two free throws with 36 seconds left and Peterson missed a couple of threes, with GT eventually getting to its nine-point edge.

“When you think about this game, you have the chance to get offensive rebounds, the chance to knock down open shots,” Hillsman said. “But late in the game, we didn’t do that, and that’s why we lost.”

Published on January 15, 2017 at 5:34 pm

Contact Matt: mjfel100@syr.edu