Georgia Tech holds off Virginia in ACC tourney, to face Duke

Field Level Media|published: Wed 12th March, 14:38 2025

Mar 12, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Naithan George (1) with the ball as Virginia Cavaliers guard Dai Dai Ames (7) defends in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Duncan Powell scored 21 points in his first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game as Georgia Tech defeated Virginia 66-60 in a second-round contest on Wednesday.

Baye Ndongo provided 16 points and 10 rebounds and Naithan George added 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Yellow Jackets avenged a regular-season loss.

Eighth-seeded Georgia Tech (17-15) will face top-seeded Duke (28-3), the No. 1 team in the nation, in the first quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon.

Isaac McKneely led ninth-seeded Virginia (15-17) with 27 points, shooting 7-for-11 on 3-pointers. Playing under interim coach Ron Sanchez, the Cavaliers completed their first losing season in 15 years. He was elevated to the position a few weeks prior to the start of the season after the sudden retirement of coach Tony Bennett.

Virginia, which had a 44-26 rebounding deficit, shot 36.2 percent from the field.

Tied at 35 in the second half, the Yellow Jackets scored eight straight points for a 43-35 lead. Powell scored on back-to-back drives to stretch Georgia Tech's lead to 49-39 with less than nine minutes remaining.

But the Cavaliers used an 8-0 run in the final minute to make it interesting.

Virginia was within 62-55 on McKneely's 3-pointer with 47 seconds to play and edged closer on Jacob Cofie's dunk at the 35-second mark after a pair of missed foul shots by George. A Georgia Tech turnover led to McKneely's 3 with 25 seconds left, putting the score at 62-60.

George sank a total of four foul shots on Georgia Tech's next two possessions to put the game out of reach.

The Yellow Jackets won despite being outscored 27-6 from beyond the 3-point arc. Georgia Tech made up for some of that with 18-for-23 shooting on free throws. Virginia was 9-for-11 on foul shots.

Both teams received first-round byes and the offenses were sluggish in the first half.

McKneely had 11 first-half points as the teams were tied at 25-25 at halftime. Georgia Tech went through a stretch of more than seven minutes without a field goal, while Virginia shot 5-for-14 on 3-pointers and 3-for-13 on 2-point attempts.

--Bob Sutton, Field Level Media