SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Zach Auguste had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Notre Dame pulled away late Wednesday night for a 72-64 ACC win over Georgia Tech.
After going scoreless in the first half, Demetrius Jackson finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Irish (11-5, 2-2).
Marcus Georges-Hunt scored 18 to lead Georgia Tech (11-6, 1-3) and Adam Smith added 15 points.
Notre Dame hit 11 of 12 free throws over the final two minutes, including eight straight from Jackson, to seal the victory. Jackson finished 13-for-14 from the line, but just 2-for-11 from the field.
The Irish used a 7-0 run to earn some breathing room with 4:30 to play, but Georges-Hunt responded for Tech with a 3-point play followed by Smith's fadeaway 3-pointer to cut it to 61-58 with 3:25 to go.
Auguste scored four straight field goals early in the second half to help the Irish build a seven-point lead, five minutes in.
After going 0-for-5 from the field in the first half, Georgia Tech forward Nick Jacobs scored all 10 of his points in a row during the second half to counter Auguste and keep the Yellow Jackets close.
Notre Dame came in sixth in the country and leading the ACC in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent, but shot just 32 percent in the first half (10-for-31). The Irish still managed to take a 30-27 lead into halftime after Georgia Tech misfired as well, hitting just 25 percent (9-for-36).
Notre Dame freshman forward Matt Ryan replaced Bonzie Colson in the starting lineup, the first change in Notre Dame's starting lineup this season. Ryan finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
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TIP-INS
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets have played three of their first four ACC games on the road, starting with losses at No. 5 North Carolina and No. 20 Pittsburgh. They play their next two at home.
Notre Dame: Georgia Tech's 25 percent first-half shooting mark was the lowest by an Irish opponent since they held the Yellow Jackets to 26.1 percent in the second half of a double-overtime win on Jan. 14 of last season.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/1/362426/auguste-jackson-help-irish-hold-off-georgia-tech-72-64