ATLANTA (AP) — Marcus Georges-Hunt and Georgia Tech ended their agonizing trend of close losses at the expense of Wake Forest.
Georges-Hunt scored a career-high 30 points, including four free throws in the final 30 seconds, and Georgia Tech held off Wake Forest 71-66 on Wednesday night, giving the Demon Deacons their ninth straight ACC loss.
Charles Mitchell had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Georgia Tech (13-11, 3-8 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Yellow Jackets snapped a three-game losing streak with only their second win in their last eight games.
Wake Forest (10-14, 1-11) has its longest streak of ACC losses since 11 straight at the end of the 2010-11 season.
Devin Thomas led the Demon Deacons with 20 points. Bryant Crawford had 10.
Georges-Hunt made each of his seven free throws, including the crucial attempts late in the game.
"I realized we were in the bonus," Georges-Hunt said, adding his strategy was "Attack, attack, attack."
Georges-Hunt, a senior, topped his previous career high of 27 points against Virginia Tech on Jan. 16.
The Yellow Jackets' eight conference losses were by an average of 5.8 points, with no loss by more than nine points.
"Being in so many of those close games, you just hate the feeling of not winning," Mitchell said.
"If you're always the team losing by small margins, it just eats at you."
Crawford's 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining cut Georgia Tech's lead to 66-64. Georges-Hunt made two free throws to push the lead back to four points before Cornelius Hudson answered with a quick basket for Wake Forest.
Georges-Hunt added two more free throws to protect the lead. He made 11 of 15 shots from the field and also led Georgia Tech with four assists and three steals.
"We couldn't guard Georges-Hunt," said Wake Forest coach Danny Manning. "That's what it came down to. For the most part he had his way with us."
Georgia Tech led 5-3 before Wake Forest scored nine straight points, a run capped by a jam from Thomas. The Yellow Jackets did not reclaim the lead until almost midway through the second half. Soon after Thomas left the game with three fouls, a short jumper by Georges-Hunt gave Georgia Tech a 48-47 lead.
The Demon Deacons pulled even at 49-all but didn't lead again. Thomas called the losing streak "very frustrating."
"We have to make sure that we don't lose focus," Thomas said. "We still have a lot of basketball to play."
Georgia Tech's only 3-pointer of the second half, from Adam Smith with less than two minutes remaining, pushed the lead to 66-59.
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BACK TO THE BOARDS
After having a season-low two rebounds in a loss to Miami on Sunday, eight below his average, Mitchell returned to form with the double-double. "I just had to come out and make a statement on the glass," Mitchell said, adding the two-rebound game "just ate at me."
GOOD START, BAD FINISH
Wake Forest led for 24 minutes but again came away without the win.
"Right now we're in a situation where we do some good things but we're not able to sustain that for the duration," Manning said. "Nobody's going to change until we change it."
TIP-INS
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons' last win at Georgia Tech came in 2004. ... Thomas limped off the court with 16 seconds remaining in the first half after appearing to turn his ankle. He returned to open the second half. ... The Demon Deacons' last ACC win came on Jan. 10 against North Carolina State, their next opponent.
Georgia Tech: Georges-Hunt averaged 16 points in his first five career games against the Demon Deacons, including four wins for the Yellow Jackets. He has scored in double figures in six straight games against Wake Forest. ... Georges-Hunt passed Kenny Anderson for 16th place on the school's list of all-time scorers.
UP NEXT
Wake Forest: At North Carolina State on Saturday
Georgia Tech: At Clemson on Saturday
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/2/369260/georges-hunt-powers-georgia-tech-past-wake-forest-71-66