‘We have to roll up our sleeves’: Georgia Tech plays next three at home, hosts HBCU on Saturday

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will host Alabama A&M on Saturday, Dec. 28 and Notre Dame on New Year’s Eve. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceGeorgia Tech men’s basketball head coach Damon Stoudamire dropped his backpack and picked up a stat sheet. He was preparing to give his postgame press conference, but wanted to get a good look at the numbers first. His team was only down by five points at halftime to visiting Duke on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets would go on to be outscored 41-16 during the second half of an 82-56 loss.“We gave it a fight in the first half. I thought we did some good things,” said Stoudamire. The second-year coach credited Duke’s efforts by saying he’d be surprised if there are many teams in the ACC as good as the Blue Devils, and credited his team for playing tough, but a loss is still a loss. Georgia Tech, who was without several key players, including seniors Kowacie Reeves, Jr. and Luke O’Brien, was outrebounded 36-25 during the game. Tech senior big man Ryan Mutumbo led the team with just six rebounds, while the Yellow Jackets had only two players score in double-figures (sophomore forward Baye...