Jackets Defeat Notre Dame at Home 63-61

After playing arguably their worst game of the season on Saturday, Georgia Tech desperately needed to bounce back with Notre Dame coming to Atlanta Tuesday night. They did just that, picking up a 63-61 victory to move to 11-8 overall and 3-3 in ACC play.

Tech broke a trend of slow starts, jumping out to an early 13-4 lead, but Notre Dame fought back and the Jackets found themselves trailing by two at the half. The second half was a mostly back and forth affair until a technical foul on Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey stretched the Tech lead from three to seven. Tech went on to stretch the seven point lead to as many as eleven and never trailed again the rest of the night.

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This game was a battle for the paint, with James Banks and AD Gueye combining for 29 points for the Jackets and Notre Dame big man John Mooney dropping 22 himself. Banks and Mooney both finished with double-doubles, collecting 10 and 14 rebounds collectively. Banks and Gueye played one of their better games as a combo and seem to be learning how to play alongside each other. Despite being a strong game for AD offensively, he had a pair of mental lapses on defense when he fouled a three point shooter not once, but twice down the stretch.

Sophomore Jose Alvarado finished with 16 points, despite being questionable coming into the night due to a groin injury. His biggest points of the game came with eight seconds left when he was sent to the line for a 1-and-1 free throw attempt with Tech up two points. Alvarado hit both free throws, stretching the lead to four and sealing the win.

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Notre Dame shot just 32% on the night, another strong outing by the Tech defense. The Jackets are holding teams to just a 39% field goal percentage on the season.

Tech once again had double digit turnovers, finishing with 14, right in line with their average of 15 per game, which ranks among the worst in the country.

Next up for the Jackets, the Duke Blue Devils.