Duke loses to Georgia Tech in overtime as NCAA hopes dim further
With its top scorer having fouled out and 3-pointers not falling, Duke pieced together a valiant rally to force overtime in a game the Blue Devils desperately needed to win Tuesday night at Georgia Tech.
In the extra period, though, Duke’s inability to hit a shot left them further away from earning an NCAA tournament bid.
Georgia Tech’s Moses Wright scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, including six points in overtime, as the Yellow Jackets beat the Blue Devils 81-77 in ACC basketball at McCamish Pavilion Tuesday night.
The second loss in a row — both in overtime — left the Blue Devils (11-10, 9-8 ACC) almost certainly needing to win the ACC tournament championship to keep them from missing their first NCAA tournament since 1995.
“It was a tough locker room, the last two games and this game because it’s another overtime loss,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “There’s no other alternative except to work and play hard to win. We don’t feel sorry for ourselves. We feel down, but we’ve got to keep working. Our program is about that.”
Duke shot just 44.1%, making 7 of 26 3-pointers. The Blue Devils made only 4 of 13 shots in overtime, including 2 of 7 3-pointers.
“We’re just not getting any production from our perimeter, from our guards,” Krzyzewski said after starting guards DJ Steward (8 points) and Jeremy Roach (3 points) combined to hit 3 of 11 shots, including 2 of 9 on 3-pointers. “It’s the second game in a row where they’ve had a tough time against veteran guards.”
Wendell Moore and Mark Williams each scored 20 points for Duke while Matthew Hurt scored 12 points before fouling out with 6:14 to play in regulation.
“It’s tough,” Williams said. “We made a lot of mistakes in the game. But throughout all that we still gave ourselves a chance to win at the end. It’s tough. It’s tough.”
After Georgia Tech went scoreless over the final 4:41 of regulation to allow Duke to rally from eight points down to force overtime at 64-all, a Williams dunk off a pass from Joey Baker gave the Blue Devils a 66-64 lead in the extra period.
The Yellow Jackets (14-8, 10-6 ACC) eventually got their offense going again with Wright starting a run with a jumper to tie the score. After a Duke turnover, Jose Alvarado’s reverse layup put Georgia Tech ahead.
Duke’s Wendell Moore missed a contested shot in the lane and Jordan Usher’s basket with 3:10 left put the Yellow Jackets up 70-66.
Williams split two free throws with 3:00 to play and Alvarado missed a long 3-pointer. But DJ Steward failed to convert a driving shot in the lane.
Fouled by Williams on the rebound, Alvarado hit two free throws with 2:15 giving Georgia Tech a 72-67 lead.
Williams again split two free throws at 2:04 leaving Georgia Tech up 72-68. But Wright’s slam dunk with 1:39 left gave the Yellow Jackets a 74-68 lead.
Georgia Tech hit 7 of 10 free throws the rest of the way to post the win, claiming its fifth consecutive win.
The Yellow Jackets needed all of those free throws because Steward hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds to play leaving Duke down 79-76. When Patrick Tapé, Duke’s seldom-used reserve center, stole the in-bounds pass, the ball ended up in Steward’s hands for another open 3-pointer.
But his shot attempt to tie missed with two seconds to play and Duke was out of rallies.
Earlier, Duke’s poor shooting throughout and a spate of turnovers during a key stretch of the second half allowed Georgia Tech to erase the Blue Devils’ five-point, second-half lead to build a 64-56 lead with 4:41 to play.
But the Yellow Jackets failed to score another point in regulation.
With Hurt unavailable, Duke looked elsewhere for offense and found it.
Jordan Goldwire hit a shot in the lane with 2:56 to play and Joey Baker’s 3-pointer with 2:19 left sliced the Georgia Tech lead to 64-61.
After Mark Williams blocked Michael Devoe’s shot, Baker was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. His three free throws with 1:43 left tied the game at 64.
Georgia Tech missed four shots over its next two possessions, including Alvarado’s air-balled 3-pointer that gave Duke possession with 6.1 seconds to play.
Jaemyn Brakefield’s 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off and the teams headed to overtime.
“We had a great shot to win at the end of regulation,” Krzyzewski said. “The kids executed a full-court play really well.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 7:52 PM.