Georgia Tech 66, Northwestern 58: Charles Mitchell scored 13 points and the visiting Yellow Jackets held on after a sizzling start to prevail in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Georgia Tech (6-1) scored 18 consecutive points in the game’s opening minutes, building a 20-2 advantage before surviving a late rally that saw Northwestern (5-2) pull within one point. Robert Sampson contributed 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Josh Heath scored a career-high 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting and dished out five assists.

Alex Olah scored 19 points with 10 rebounds and two blocks for the Wildcats, who have dropped two in a row after winning their first five. Tre Demps scored 14 points and Sanjay Lumpkin added 12, but Northwestern hit 4-of-23 attempts from 3-point range and finished 8-of-14 from the free-throw line.

Olah’s layup with 15:42 remaining cut the deficit to 33-25, but a Sampson layup and 3-pointer sandwiched around Quinton Stephens’ bucket pushed the lead back to 13. The Wildcats used a 15-4 burst to draw within 57-56 on Olah’s 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:17 remaining, but Heath hit a running jumper in the lane and two Marcus Georges-Hunt free throws established a 61-56 lead.

Georgia Tech dominated the opening seven minutes, hitting eight of its first 11 shots from the field to sprint to an 18-point advantage. Mitchell scored five of his 10 first-half points during the spurt, Demarco Cox scored four points during the run and Sampson’s basket with 13:19 to play in the half made it 20-2.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Olah, who scored two points in the first half, finished 8-of-12 from the field. … The Yellow Jackets are off to their best start since going 8-1 to begin 2009-10. … Georgia Tech, which started the day shooting 61 percent from the free-throw line, hit 14-of-18 attempts.