Georgia Tech Falls Behind Early, Can’t Recover in Home Loss to Pitt
Back home after a road trip to Miami, Georgia Tech was hoping to reset and regroup. Instead, they ran into a red-hot Pitt team that came out firing and never let up. The Yellow Jackets, now 10-7 on the season, couldn’t find their rhythm early and spent the rest of the night playing catch-up in a game that quickly slipped out of reach.
Starting Five & Slow Start
Damon Stoudamire rolled with a starting group of Lamar Washington, Akai Fleming, Baye Ndongo, Kowacie Reeves, and Jaeden Mustaf. But from the opening tip, it was Pitt who dictated the pace.
Fleming opened the scoring with a dunk, but Pitt answered with back-to-back threes and then rattled off a 10-0 run that forced an early timeout from Stoudamire. At that point, it was 10-2, and the Jackets were already on their heels.
The offensive struggles for Tech were evident early. Missed finishes around the rim and defensive lapses allowed Pitt to build momentum.
Washington finally broke a 12-0 Pitt run with a three-pointer, and Miles Kelley came off the bench to knock down another. Still, Pitt was getting whatever it wanted offensively-beating Tech off the dribble and cashing in from deep.
No Answers on Defense
Out of a timeout, Reeves threw down a dunk to try and spark something, and Kyle Craft answered a Pitt three with one of his own. But every time the Jackets made a push, Pitt had a response.
Kelley fouled a three-point shooter, and the Panthers converted all three free throws. Craft added a bucket to stop another Pitt run, and Washington got a steal and layup that gave Tech a brief jolt.
But the Jackets simply couldn’t string together stops. Pitt kept pouring it on, and by halftime, Tech trailed 45-26.
Second Half: Too Little, Too Late
Coming out of the break, Baye Ndongo got on the board for the first time, and Mustaf added a drive and finish. Reeves found Ndongo for a bucket, but a turnover by Fleming led to another Pitt score and a timeout with 15:12 left.
The Jackets showed some signs of life with a flurry of threes, but the defensive issues persisted. Pitt continued to get clean looks and convert, pushing the lead to 71-52 midway through the second half.
Takeaways
This one was tough from the jump. Georgia Tech never found a defensive answer for Pitt’s perimeter shooting and dribble penetration. Offensively, the Jackets had moments-especially from their bench-but the early hole was too deep.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the team didn’t quit. They kept firing, kept trying to claw back, and showed some flashes of offensive cohesion in the second half. But moving forward, the Jackets will need to tighten up defensively and find ways to start faster, especially against high-powered ACC opponents.
They’ll have to shake this one off quickly. Conference play doesn’t get any easier from here.