Northwestern Downed on Buzzer-Beater at Georgia Tech

11/28/2017 8:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score vs. Georgia Tech (PDF)Coach Collins Postgame

ATLANTA — Despite a furious second-half comeback, Northwestern was unable to overcome a rough shooting performance as the Wildcats fell to Georgia Tech, 52-51, on a buzzer-beater Tuesday evening at the McCamish Pavilion in the B1G/ACC Challenge.

Senior Bryant McIntosh turned in an impressive performance as he finished with a game-high 18 points, adding six rebounds and five assists.

Junior Dererk Pardon registered his first double-double of the season as he finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Vic Law also contributed by scoring in double figures (12 points) on 5-of-8 shooting.

Northwestern shot 36-percent from the field on 21-of-58 shooting, including 22-percent (5-of-23) from 3-point territory. Georgia Tech shot 37-percent from the field on 16-of-43 shooting, including 4-of-13 from behind the arc.

Both teams had trouble getting the lid off the basket early, but eight straight points by the Wildcats midway through the first half, highlighted by two field goals from McIntosh and a three-point play by Skelly, helped wipe away a seven point deficit and give the Wildcats a 10-9 lead early.

The pace began to pick up as both teams traded buckets in the last 10 minutes of the half. A floater by McIntosh knotted the score at 22 with 2:34 remaining in the half, however a pair of 3-pointers from the Yellow Jackets' Curtis Haywood II sent Georgia Tech into halftime with a 28-22 lead.

McIntosh led all players at the half with nine points and five rebounds, while Skelly had six points. As a team, the 'Cats struggled shooting from the field, converting on 9-of-33 field goals. The Yellow Jackets shot just 9-of-25 from the field.

Law's jumper to open the second half brought the Wildcats within four, but Georgia Tech kept its foot on the gas pedal and extended the lead to as much as 10 with just under 14 minutes to play in the game.

But the Wildcats ramped up their defensive efforts as they held Georgia Tech without a field goal for almost four minutes and cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to five thanks to a three-point play by Law.

Georgia Tech retaliated and extended their lead to 47-37, but the Wildcats came roaring back, going on an 12-0 run to take the lead with 2:22 remaining in the game.

A putback by Pardon gave the Wildcats a 51-50 lead with seven seconds to play, however a Tadric Jackson layup at the buzzer gave the Yellow Jackets a 52-51 victory.

Chicago's Big Ten Team will host Illinois on Friday for its first conference game of the season at 8 p.m. CT. The action will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Tickets are available online at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.

Northwestern Notes vs. Georgia Tech – Nov. 28, 2017
• Georgia Tech evened the all-time series between the schools, 2-2. All four games in the series have been played as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The teams have split a pair of meetings in Atlanta.
• Dererk Pardon grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in the contest. His previous high was 7 on two occasions.
• Pardon also tallied 10 points, giving Northwestern its first double-double of the season. It is the sixth double-double of Pardon's career.
• Northwestern matched a season low with six turnovers in the game. The Wildcats also had six turnovers against Creighton Nov. 15.
• The Wildcats held Georgia Tech without a field goal for the final 8:03 of the game until the game-winning basket by the Yellow Jackets at the buzzer.
• Northwestern forced 15 Georgia Tech turnovers, one game after forcing 23 against Sacred Heart last Friday. NU has forced at least 15 turnovers in four of its seven games this season.