ATLANTA — 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.
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. 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.
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.
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 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 an Alvarado 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 team’s headed to overtime.
