On Wednesday, Stanford men’s basketball fell to Georgia Tech on the road by a final score of 60-52. Georgia Tech guard Naithan George led the way for the Yellow Jackets with 22 points, seven rebounds, and five assists while forward Baye Ndongo had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks. Stanford guard Jaylen Blakes was the top scorer for the Cardinal with 12 points and six assists in his return from injury. Georgia Tech improves 12-13 overall and 6-8 in the ACC while Stanford falls to 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Georgia Tech-Wednesday, February 12th
With 14:09 to go in the first half, Georgia Tech led 9-4 as Baye Ndongo was leading the way with four points inside while Duncan Powell had a 3-pointer and Naithan George had a driving layup. Jaylen Blakes was on the board for Stanford with a pair of free throws while Donavin Young had a fast break dunk.
Stanford would get back in the game as it was an 11-10 lead for Georgia Tech with 12:32 to go in the half after a 3-pointer by Oziyah Sellers got Stanford to within one point. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, following a media time out, Georgia Tech would go on a 10-0 run to lead 21-10 with 8:29 to go in the half.
Georgia Tech would thus lead 35-20 at halftime with a 15 point lead. Ndongo (11 points & 9 rebounds) and Powell (10 points & 5 rebounds) were leading the Yellow Jacks while Sellers (8 points) was leading the Cardinal. Stanford was in a big hole and needing to wake up in the second half. Especially their star center Maxime Raynaud, who had just two points on 1-8 shooting from the field and 0-4 shooting from 3-point range.
With 16:00 to go in the game, Georgia Tech led 40-22. George was up to 12 points for the Yellow Jackets while Ndongo (11 points & 11 rebounds) had a double-double. Stanford needed to make their run now if it was going to happen at all.
With 11:34 to go, Georgia Tech led 47-28 as Stanford continued to struggle. George was up to 15 points for the Yellow Jackets while Powell and Ndongo were also in double figures. The Cardinal were shooting an abysmal 10-43 from the field.
With 8:46 to go, Georgia Tech led 49-32 after a pull up jumper by George. Stanford then went on an 9-0 run sparked by a 3-pointer by Chisom Okpara to make it a 49-41 game with 5:55 to go. Stanford suddenly had a bit of life. After a layup by Okpara a couple of minutes later, it was a 53-46 game with 3:20 to go. It looked like maybe the Cardinal would make a comeback.
Unfortunately for Stanford, they were not able to finish the job as Georgia Tech would fend them off, winning by a final score of 60-52. Stanford put up an amazing fight in the second half and showed a lot of resiliency, but the hole they dug themselves into was too big. If you are going to win on the road, you just can’t allow yourselves to get down by so much at halftime and expect to win.
Up next for Stanford is a road game at No. 3 Duke on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 1:00 PM PT on ABC.
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