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Duncan Powell scores 21 and Georgia Tech held off a late rally to beat Virginia 66-60 in ACC tourney

 
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duncan Powell scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, Baye Ndongo and Naithan George each had a double-double and No. 8 seed Georgia Tech held off a late rally to beat No. 9 seed Virginia 66-60 on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

It was Georgia Tech’s first win in the series with Virginia since a 68-64 victory in Atlanta on Jan. 9, 2016.

Georgia Tech (17-15) will play top-seeded Duke in the quarterfinals on Thursday, looking to avenge an 82-56 loss to the then-No. 5 Blue Devils on Dec. 21.

Powell scored nine straight Georgia Tech points, including a baseline jumper to make it 51-41 with 7:52 left. Ndongo scored the next four points for the Yellow Jackets, Jaeden Mustaf added two free throws, and Powell made a shot in the lane to make it 59-46 with 2:57 left.

Virginia guard Isaac McKneely led the comeback with under a minute left. He made a long 3-pointer with 46.4 seconds left and George missed the front end of a one-and-one. After a timeout, Jacob Cofie was left open for a dunk to pull the Cavaliers within 62-57 with 35.7 left.

Cofie forced a turnover on the inbounds play with 33.4 seconds left and McKneely sank another 3-pointer to get within 62-60. George made two free throws at 19.1 for a four-point lead.

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McKneely had the ball knocked out of his hands on a drive to the basket and George added two more free throws to seal it.

Ndongo finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for Georgia Tech. George nearly secured a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

McKneely had 27 points and seven 3-pointers for Virginia (15-17), which had won 13 straight in the series.

Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire had an extended embrace with Virginia interim coach Ron Sanchez at midcourt following the game.

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