Jordan Usher scored 16 points to lead three players in double figures, but Georgia Tech was unable to contain a hot-shooting Notre Dame team and fell to the Fighting Irish, 90-56, Saturday evening at the Purcell Pavilion.
Tech (11-18, 4-14 ACC) converted just 34.4 percent of its field goals in the game, 4-of-20 from three-point range, while Notre Dame (21-8, 14-4 ACC) hit 57.1 percent of its shots from the floor, 13-of-23 from three-point range, to keep pace with Duke and its hold on second place in the conference standings.
Notre Dame, which shot 66.7 percent and hit 7-of-11 from three-point range in the first half, took control of the game with a 10-0 run behind a pair of three-pointers and a layup from Dane Goodwin, giving his team a 38-19 lead with 2:58 remaining. The Fighting Irish continued to build their lead from there, and Tech was never able to trim its deficit.
Goodwin didn’t score in the second half but still finished the game with a game-high 17 points, while freshman Blake Wesley scored 15, Prentiss Hubb 13 and Paul Atkinson, Jr., 10.
Usher hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 4-of-4 from the foul line to pace Tech’s scoring. Kyle Sturdivant overcame early foul trouble to score 11, and Rodney Howard posted his fourth double-digit game in the last five with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Georgia Tech returns to action Wednesday for its final road game of the regular season, a 7 p.m. tip at Clemson in a rematch of the Jackets’ 69-64 win on Feb. 5 in Atlanta. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.