In familiar fashion to what Tech fans have seen all year, the Jackets hung with an ACC powerhouse for the first 20 minutes before collapsing in the second 20. After shooting 58% in the first half, the Jackets had a 4 point halftime lead. Tech went on to shoot just 31% in the second half, including a 5 minute scoreless stretch, between which Duke stretched a 5 point lead into a 17 point lead, putting the game out of reach for good.
The Jackets had no answer for Grayson Allen who got hot early and never looked back. Allen had 8 of Duke's first 15 points and finished with 27, including 7-10 on threes. This was Allen's second highest output in ACC play after scoring 28 against NCSU a couple games ago. Freshman Derryck Thornton had one of the better games of his young career, scoring 15 points on 7-11 shooting, with 11 coming in the second half.
Despite shooting 58% in the first half, Tech was just 2-8 from three and went on to shot 0-11 in the second half. For a team that had made so much progress from outside the arc, it was a brutal flashback for Tech fans to the past few seasons. The last two games, Tech has shot just 7-37, good for an unbelievably low rate of 19%.
One of the few positives from this game was the season high 15 points from Tadric Jackson. Jackson was aggressive early, attacking the basket and slashing through the Duke zone. If he can keep up his level of aggression going forward, he can have a huge impact for the Jackets, who are still desperately looking for guard play. Travis Jorgenson and Josh Heath played just 12 and 15 minutes respectively.
Jacobs continued the hot streak he finds himself on as he scored 17 points on 8-14 shooting. He has now scored double digits in 7 straight for the Jackets. Marcus Georges-Hunt was held to just 3-9 shooting, but he added 7 assists tonight, a season high for him.
A pretty cool moment happened at halftime when Tech alum Stewart Cink hit a full-court, 94 foot putt.
PGA golfer Stewart Cink hits a 94-foot putt during halftime of the Duke vs Georgia Tech game. https://t.co/WuYCx0Gcs4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 3, 2016
The Jackets get the rest of the week off before getting back in action on Sunday at home against #17 Miami. Tipoff will be at 1:00 EST. This will be the second game of Tech's three game home stand and it will be televised on ESPNU.