Kyle Sturdivant told his Georgia Tech teammates that a visit from No. 3 North Carolina meant it was time to break out the “big box.”
Naithan George responded with the biggest play of the game.
George scored a go-ahead left-footed layup with 7.7 seconds left, and Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 74-73 on Tuesday night to end the Tar Heels' 10-game winning streak.
“They were able to make one more play than us,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. “It was a really good shot by George.”
Georgia Tech (10-11, 3-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost three straight and eight of its last nine to fall near the bottom of the conference standings. Still, there have been highlights for the Yellow Jackets, who notched their third home win over a Top 25 team after beating No. 21 Mississippi State 67-59 on Nov. 28 and No. 7 Duke 72-68 on December 2 to open ACC hours.
“I told the guys that every time we play a Top 25 team it feels like we're putting on our big boy pants, so let's do it,” Sturdivant said.
The last time Georgia Tech beat a No. 3-ranked team was a win over third-ranked North Carolina in the 2005 ACC tournament. The Yellow Jackets had not beaten North Carolina and Duke in the same season from 2020-21.
RJ Davis, who scored a game-high 28 points for North Carolina (17-4, 9-1), won the fumble race after a missed jumper by George and scored on a layup with 34 seconds left to a 73- 72 lead.
After a Georgia Tech timeout, George drove for the go-ahead layup.
“If I could go down, I could at least shoot up and let my teammates break the glass,” George said.
North Carolina called a timeout with 4.6 seconds left, but RJ Davis missed a last-second jumper, prompting Georgia Tech fans to celebrate by running onto the court.
There was contact from Georgia Tech's Ebenezer Dowuona on Davis' last shot, who pleaded unsuccessfully with the referees for a foul. Hubert Davis said he couldn't see if there was a foul.
“We feel like [Davis] “I was in a position where I had an angle on a guy and gave him a couple steps,” Hubert Davis said. “I couldn't see more than that. The last thing I saw was RJ on the ground.”
North Carolina suffered its first conference loss after its best start in the ACC since winning its first 11 ACC games in the 2000-01 season.
Sturdivant led Georgia Tech with 18 points. George scored 16 points and Miles Kelly added 15.
The Tar Heels led 36-25 after a three-pointer by Cormac Ryan. The Yellow Jackets closed the first half on a 12-1 run to tie it at 37 at halftime.
There was a great performance by North Carolina fans among the 8,600 spectators who filled the stadium. Georgia Tech called for a shutout, but Carolina Blue commanded about half the crowd.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
