Senior reserve Kyle Sturdivant scored a season-high 21 points to help lead Georgia Tech to a 73-70 win over Massachusetts in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic on Thursday in Honolulu.
Dallan Coleman and Baye Ndongo added 12 points apiece for the Yellow Jackets (7-3), who rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit to advance to the semifinals. Georgia Tech will oppose either Portland or Hawaii on Friday.
Matt Cross led UMass (6-3) with 17 points. Rahsool Diggins added 15 points for the Minutemen, who scored just six points over the final five minutes.
After trailing by eight early in the second half, UMass went on a 20-2 run to take a 51-41 lead, capped by six consecutive points from Cross.
A Josh Cohen layup allowed UMass to match its largest lead of the game at 11 points with 9:02 left. Georgia Tech then went on a 14-3 run to knot the score at 64 with 3:23 remaining.
Cross and Naithan George then traded triples before Sturdivant made a layup with 2:01 left to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead since the first two minutes of the second half.
Cohen turned the ball over with 18 seconds left before Sturdivant knocked down a pair of free throws to give Georgia Tech a 71-67 lead. Diggins responded with a triple to cut the deficit to one with 10.1 seconds to go.
Studivant made two more free throws, and UMass’ Robert Davis Jr. missed an off-balanced 3-point attempt just before the buzzer.
Georgia Tech ended the first half on a 12-3 run to take a 37-31 lead into the locker room. The surge was capped with a Sturdivant jumper at the buzzer to give the Yellow Jackets their six-point halftime lead. Georgia Tech led at the half despite turning the ball over 11 times.
UMass will play in a consolation game against the loser of the late Thursday game between the Rainbow Warriors and the Pilots.
–Field Level Media