Moses Wright had 31 points and 16 rebounds to lead Georgia Tech to an 84-77 win over Syracuse on Saturday in Atlanta.
Wright, who scored 26 points in the road win against No. 18 Virginia Tech on Tuesday, continued his outstanding work against Syracuse. He scored a career-high 33 points against the Orange last season.
Wright made 14 of 25 shots from the floor en route to recording his fifth double-double against ACC competition.
Jordan Usher had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Michael Devoe added 18, six and six, respectively for Georgia Tech (13-8 overall, 9-6 ACC).
Syracuse (13-8, 7-7) was led by Alan Griffin, who scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half. Quincy Guerrier added 13 points, Buddy Boeheim had 12 and Joseph Girard III scored 10.
Georgia Tech has won four straight overall and broke a two-game losing streak to the Orange. Syracuse has lost two straight.
Georgia Tech survived the final minutes without veteran floor leader Jose Alvarado, who fouled out with 3:07 remaining and the Yellow Jackets holding a 79-69 lead. Syracuse got as close to seven, but a dunk by Wright and a 3-pointer by Bubba Parham, who replaced Alvarado at point guard, pushed the advantage to 12.
Georgia Tech's decision to start the game in a man-to-man defense caught Syracuse by surprise and prevented the Orange from getting any offensive rhythm. The Yellow Jackets forced eight early turnovers, which led to 15 points and allowed them to take a 29-16 lead with 7:31 remaining in the first half.
But Griffin knocked down two 3-pointers during an 11-0 run that got the Orange to within 29-27. Syracuse closed the half on an 8-0 run and outscored Georgia Tech 23-5 over the final 7:31 to take a 39-34 halftime lead.
Georgia Tech surged into the lead for the first time in the second half thanks to a 7-0 run that featured a dunk by Wright, then rode an 8-0 stretch that pushed the lead to 63-53 with 8:05 remaining. Syracuse never got closer than six points the rest of the game.
--Field Level Media
Syracuse | Georgia Tech | |
Alan Griffin 26 | Scoring | Moses Wright 31 |
Kadary Richmond 6 | Assists | Jordan Usher 7 |
Jesse Edwards 8 | Rebounds | Moses Wright 16 |
Alan Griffin 4 | Free Throws Made | Jordan Usher 5 |
Robert Braswell 2 | Steals | Jordan Usher 3 |
John Bol Ajak 1 | Blocks | Khalid Moore 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Syracuse | 77 | 45.2 | 7-21 | 14-19 | 12 | 32 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
Georgia Tech | 84 | 50.0 | 5-18 | 13-21 | 26 | 36 | 2 | 9 | 13 |