GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Trae Golden’s three-point play with 35.3 seconds left in overtime helped Georgia Tech beat Boston College 73-70 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Robert Carter Jr. had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Marcus Georges-Hunt added 18 points and Golden finished with 14 points for the 11th-seeded Yellow Jackets (16-16).
They blew a 13-point lead with just over 8 minutes left and went roughly 10 minutes between field goals in regulation and OT before regrouping to claim their first ACC tournament win since reaching the 2010 title game.
Georgia Tech will play sixth-seeded Clemson (19-11) in the second round Thursday night.
Patrick Heckmann scored 21 points and Olivier Hanlan added 16 for the 14th-seeded Eagles (8-24), who got back in the game by reeling off 12 straight points late in regulation but ended the season by losing five of six.
Golden ended Tech’s lengthy shooting drought in the final minute of overtime, driving down the lane and banking in a jumper through contact from Heckmann to put the Yellow Jackets ahead to stay. His free throw gave Tech a 69-67 lead.
Boston College then got the ball inside to Ryan Anderson, who missed a contested hook shot that would’ve tied it.
Kammeon Holsey hit four free throws in the final 14.7 seconds to make it 73-67 before Joe Rahon hit a meaningless 3 at the buzzer for BC.
Anderson finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles, who wrapped up their third straight losing season by being denied their third ACC tournament victory since 2009.
They had a prime chance to win it in regulation when Hanlan _ Boston College’s leading scorer _ went to the line for two free throws with 5.2 seconds left and the Eagles down by one.
His first attempt bounced off the back iron, and he made the second to tie it at 62.
Golden took the inbounds pass for Georgia Tech and raced down the right sideline but couldn’t get a shot off because Garland Owens stripped him at the buzzer.
Holsey had 12 points for Georgia Tech, which led 55-42 after the second of consecutive three-point plays by Georges-Hunt with just over 8 minutes remaining.
Carter made it 61-49 when he tipped in Golden’s miss with 5:28 left in regulation _ but the Yellow Jackets didn’t hit another field goal until Golden’s three-point play in the final minute of OT.
Heckmann capped BC’s game-tightening 12-0 run with a free throw with 52 seconds left in regulation that made it 61-all.
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