Yellow Jackets Defeat Boston College in Overtime Thriller
ATLANTA — In its last home game of the season and on senior night, the Yellow Jackets were
able to come away with a 81-78 overtime victory over ACC rival Boston College Sunday
evening. Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe and Jose Alvarado combined for 41 points, eight rebounds and
eight assists. Moses Wright and James Banks also finished in double digits, with 10 and 18
points respectively.
“I thought Devoe and Alvarado played at a high level today and also, that’s back-to-back games
where we have had single digit turnovers and we can’t afford to have turnovers in games such
as this one,” Georgia Tech Basketball Head Coach Josh Pastner said. “ I thought Moses Wright
had a great second half, he had a lot of second chance balls and he finished at the basket. As a
team, we’re getting better but it’s not where we want to be but our young guys are improving
and getting good opportunities to develop.”
In the first period, Boston College (14-14, 5-11 ACC) led for 12:28 minutes, which was far
superior to Georgia Tech’s 4:04 minutes but once the Yellow Jackets took the lead late in the
first period, the team did not give up the lead again until the final minutes of the game.
With 7:38 left in the game, a 3-pointer by Boston College’s Chris Herren and a jumper by Reyes
put the Eagles behind by only three points. A successful free throw by Alvarado extended the
Yellow Jackets (13-17, 5-12 ACC) to four points but six straight points by Boston College saw
the team take its first lead since early in the first period, a 65-63 score with 4:28 left in the
second period.
Five points from Devoe and two points from Banks helped the Jackets take the lead once again,
this time a 70-67 score with 2:15 left in the game. But just like moments earlier, Georgia Tech was not able to successfully make a field goal and three successful free throws by Boston College sent the game into overtime. In overtime, the Yellow Jackets outscored the Eagles 11-8 and the sealed their last home
victory of the season.
At the beginning of the game, both teams got off to an even start as both teams traded baskets
and neither one could pull away in the scoreboard. But it was after five minutes of play when
Boston College, led by Jordan Chatman, Ky Bowman, Nik Popovic and Johncarlos Reyes, got
the team on an 12-4 run and helped the Eagles to a temporary 21-13 lead.
The big lead by Boston College was short-lived as Georgia Tech’s Devoe, Alvarado and
Abdoulaye Gueye propelled the Yellow Jackets to a 10-2 run and tied the game at 23 points
with 5:56 left in the first period.
After a jumper by Boston College’s Chatman, back-to-back 3-pointers by Alvarado gave the
Yellow Jackets a 29-25 with 4:14 left in the first period. Moments later, the Eagles tied the game, once again, at 29 points, but five points from Alvarado and six from Banks, helped Georgia Tech finish the first period holding a 40-33 lead. “This was a very important game to get a win and for the seniors to leave on a good note,” Georgia Tech’s Alvarado said. “We have to keep fighting because we have a game on
wednesday and then the ACC tournament and anything can happen then, we just have to keep
rolling.”
The Yellow Jackets will finish the regular season on the road Wednesday night at North
Carolina State. Afterwards, the team will begin ACC Tournament play the following week.
