SYRACUSE- Georgia Tech continued to look sharp as they traveled by bus up to Syracuse on short rest to play the Orange in the Carrier Dome. Tech pushed the game to overtime behind a big night from big man Rodney Howard with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Jackets fell 74-73 in overtime.
Techguard mike devoe had three looks in the final 33 seconds of the game with a chance to win it, but he could not convert on any of the shots. Two of the three shots rolled out of the rim along with another late three that turned into a six-point swing when Buddy Boeheim hit a three on the other end after that miss. Tech led 70-69 at prior to the Syracuse three and never led again.
Jackets’ head coach Josh Pastner said he would live with those looks anytime from Devoe with a chance to win the game.
“We had some chances, that is all you can ask for in basketball is a chance to win the game and we had some great looks there in overtime by Michael Devoe, who’s one of the best players in the ACC, and we have three really good looks by him and you know, that happens, and sometimes the ball doesn’t fall,” Pastner said. “It is just not our year with the Basketball Gods, we just haven’t got the ball to bounce our way.”
Tech had multiple chances late with one of the biggest errors coming from point guard Kyle Sturdivant who played 32 minutes including heavy minutes with four fouls in the second half and overtime. The veteran Tech point guard threw the ball away with 29.7 left in the game and the Jackets’ down one.
Khalid Moore made the pivotal defensive play that gave Tech a chance to win the game with a steal at midcourt against Buddy Boeheim with 22 seconds left in the game. The initial call went for Syracuse but on review, it was clear the ball did not hit either Tech player and instead bounced off Boeheim’s leg. The review was almost four minutes in real-time and was a major cliffhanger moment in overtime. That play set up the final looks that Devoe got with a chance to win it.
“I knew we were going to get that call because I saw the ball hit off Boeheim’s foot,” Devoe said. “We got three really good looks that we couldn’t draw up a better play for that. The ball literally just rattled in and rattled out. It is the game of basketball and there are highs and lows with it. I just have to live with it.”
Devoe was 5-15 shooting and 4-12 from three in the game but had five rebounds and four assists. He had four different three-point shots roll in and out of the rim in the game swinging momentum wildly away from the Jackets at key moments.
“In my college career this is probably the one game where all the balls just didn’t want to go in for me,” Devoe said. “It was a frustrating loss but when we lose like that it is a game I can live with, I know coach can live with that. We know we played a tremendous game and the opportunities at the end of the game, we will live with those anytime.”
Usher had another double-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds while adding five assists, but he had five turnovers in the game.
Jimmy Boeheim Jr. led the Orange with 20 points but it took him 17 shots to get there and he only scored five in the second half and overtime though two were key free throws down the stretch for the Orange to maintain their lead. Cole Swider had 18 points including four key threes and Buddy Boeheim 15 points but was 5-20 shooting in the game. Boeheim Jr., Swider, and Frank Anselem each had 10 rebounds or more in the game for the Orange.
The performance was also impressive as the Jackets played the game without Deivon Smith who suffered a concussion in the Pittsburgh game on a hard hit to the floor. Sturdivant and Devoe handled all the point guard duties with Smith sidelined. Pastner said he expects Smith to miss the Virginia Tech game as well with concussion protocols.
Howard had a huge night with a career-high 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, he was also very efficient hitting 7 of his 12 shots and five of his six free throws. He said the key to his recent success of him (four straight games in double figures, second double-double in three games) was being aggressive and that was a major part of the plan to attack the Orange zone as both Syracuse big men battled foul trouble in the game.
“It wasn’t our plan to get them in foul trouble, but we wanted to take it to them and to be aggressive,” Howard said. “That’s how I got their big men in foul trouble, just going up strong and I knew I would get the foul with the way coach was emphasizing it.”
After really struggling early on and battling injuries, Howard has been a welcomed bright spot late in the season after looking like he would merely be an end of the rotation guy.
“I’m really happy with the way I’m playing right now,” Howard said. “I can only continue to get better and clean up a couple of things. I’m finding the confidence in my scoring and I’m helping my teammates contribute as well so I’m pretty well too.”
Pastner said that Howard’s development and recent play is in line with where he projected him before he injured his foot in the USC game in December and reinjured it in the Georgia State game leading to him missing almost more than a month.
“Rodney has continued to get better,” Pastner said. “The one thing we really do well here is getting guys better. He had another career-high tonight and another double-double and in the recent games we’ve played you would not be able to say the opposing team’s big man is better than “Our big man. That stretch of the year when he was injured really hurt us because he has a presence defensively and the way he moves his feet, so I’m proud of Rodney and his development.”
Throughout the game especially in the first half, Tech was very effective against the Syracuse zone and part of that success was the play of Usher but also freshman Jalon Moore.
“We’ve had a lot of success against the Syracuse zone in our time here and we had 34 points in the paint and some good opportunities and even great looks at the end that just didn’t fall,” Pastner said.
Jalon had his best game as a Yellow Jacket with four points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block in 15 minutes of action at the four spot. Pastner used all three of his true freshmen extensively in the game playing Deebo Coleman 18 minutes and Miles Kelly 21 minutes with both Coleman and Kelly hitting some key threes in the game.
“I thought all three freshmen really gave us good minutes. Miles hit those threes early gave us a lead and Deebo, you’re down 59-53, he hits those two threes and then got fouled and then Jalon Moore gave us some great minutes So I’m really proud of those young guys,” Pastner said.
In key metrics, Tech had 26 field goals on 18 assists, outrebounded a bigger Syracuse team 53-42, and outshot them from the field and three and nearly from the free-throw line in the game. The one key metric where Tech struggled was forcing turnovers, the Orange only had four turnovers while Tech had 14.
With the loss, Tech fell to 11-16 on the reason and 4-12 in the ACC while the Orange improved to 15-12 and 9-7 in the ACC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Orange started off stone-cold on offense and Tech pounded them inside with six quick points by Howard to take an 8-1 lead with 16:18 left in the half leading to a Boeheim timeout. Deebo Coleman was the first sub for Tech with the Jackets up 12-8 with 13:42 to go in the half. At the half timeout, Tech led 15-10 with 11:56 left in the half. The Orange tied the game up on a 7-0 run. Cuse took advantage of Howard picking up a second foul and took a five-point lead, but the Jackets responded with a Devoe corner three to make it 25-23 Orange at the next half timeout with 7:02 remaining in the half. Tech reook the lead on a Kelly three and led the entire next segment 30-28 at the final half timeout with 3:16 left in the half. Swider hit a big three near the end of the half to tie the game at 33. Tech followed with a shot clock violation with 4.3 seconds left in the half. Devoe and Howard each had eight points to lead the way for the Jackets in the first half. Jimmy Boeheim was most of the Orange offense with 15 points in the first half. The Orange hit just five of 15 three-point attempts in the first half while Tech was 4-11 from the arc.
Tech started the second half slow with three scoreless minutes of play to open the frame and the Orange opened up a 38-33 lead. Howard scored the first points of the half and drew Cuse big man Bourama Sidibe into foul trouble. Tech trailed 42-38 at the first half timeout of the second half. The teams traded leads until Swider hit a three with 11:58 left in the game to put the Orange up 49-45 and Howard turned the ball over on the ensuing possession for Tech. Tech went scoreless for three minutes during this stretch before Usher hit a layup to make it 49-47. Howard picked up his third foul on the other end on defense. Tech managed to get both Sidibe and Frank Anselem in foul trouble at the nine-minute mark of the game. Sturdivant picked up his fourth foul on a questionable call on a Joseph Girard jumper with 7:41 left in the game and Tech down 52-51. Howard picked up his fourth foul on an offensive rebound attempt with 7:20 left in the game. Usher had back-to-back bad plays leading to a five-point swing for the Orange with 5:19 left to put them up six, 59-53. Coleman hit a big three out of the timeout to make it 59-56 and then hit another three to tie it up at 59 with 4:22 left. Anselem got a layup on an offensive putback and Buddy Boeheim hit a jumper to make it 63-59 with 3:23 left. Coleman got fouled shooting a three with 2:28 left down three and hit two of three to make it 63-62. Jalon Moore got the rim and got fouled with 1:13 let down one, Anselem fouled out on the play. Jalon Moore hit one of his two to tie the game at 63. Buddy Boeheim missed his shot and Rodney Howard cleared the rebound and called Tech’s final timeout with 43.4 left in the game and the game tied at 63. The Orange swarmed Tech on the next possession to force a shot clock violation with 16.5 left in the game. Boeheim called a timeout to set up the final play. Jimmy Boeheim missed a layup at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Mike Devoe hit a three to open the overtime and Swider responded with a three of his own to make it 66 all. Howard got fouled on the other end and hit both free throws to make it 68-66. Sidibe took a stroll to the bucket and hit a layup with 3:51 left to tie the game. Howard fouled out with 3:08 left in the game with 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Sidibe hit one of his two free throws. Usher got to the line at the other end hit both to give Tech a 70-69 lead with 2:50 to go. Devoe had a three rim out with the Jackets up one and Buddy Boeheim hit his three on the other end to put the Orange up 72-70. Jimmy Boeheim hit a pair of free throws to make it 74-70. Sturdivant hit a big three to make it a one-point game with 1:36 remaining. Tech got a pair of stops, but Sturdivant threw the ball away on offense with 29.7 left. Khalid Moore stripped the ball at midcourt forcing it out of bounds and off Buddy Boeheim with 22.4 left. Refs called it Orange ball, but on review, it was overturned. Devoe missed a three and a jumper but Usher and Coleman picked up offensive rebounds. Coleman was tied up and Tech had the possession arrow with 3.3 left. Devoe got a decent look and the ball rimmed out to end the game.
UP NEXT
Tech hosts Virginia Tech in a rematch of one of the few blowout losses this season for the Jackets up in Blacksburg earlier this month. The teams’ typoff at 9 pm on Wednesday.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism