Georgia Tech holds off Virginia in ACC tourney, to face Duke

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duncan Powell scored 21 points in his first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game as Georgia Tech defeated Virginia 66-60 in a second-round contest on Wednesday.Baye Ndongo provided 16 points and 10 rebounds and Naithan George added 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Yellow Jackets avenged a regular-season loss.Eighth-seeded Georgia Tech (17-15) will face top-seeded Duke (28-3), the No. 1 team in the nation, in the first quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon.Isaac McKneely led ninth-seeded Virginia (15-17) with 27 points, shooting 7-for-11 on 3-pointers. Playing under interim coach Ron Sanchez, the Cavaliers completed their first losing season in 15 years. He was elevated to the position a few weeks prior to the start of the season after the sudden retirement of coach Tony Bennett.Virginia, which had a 44-26 rebounding deficit, shot 36.2 percent from the field.Tied at 35 in the second half, the Yellow Jackets scored eight straight points for a 43-35 lead. Powell scored on back-to-back drives to stretch Georgia Tech’s lead to 49-39 with less than nine minutes remaining.But the Cavaliers used an 8-0 run in the final minute to make it interesting.Virginia was within 62-55 on McKneely’s 3-pointer with 47 seconds to play and edged closer on Jacob Cofie’s dunk at the 35-second mark after a pair of missed foul shots by George. A Georgia Tech turnover led to McKneely’s 3 with 25 seconds left, putting the score at 62-60.

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