No. 3-seeded Indiana Men’s Basketball closed out the 2016-17 season with a 75-63 loss to No. 6-seeded Georgia Tech in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night.
The Hoosiers (18-16) saw four reach double-digits in scoring, led by 14 points from Juwan Morgan, who also pulled down six boards. Thomas Bryant added 13 points and seven rebounds, while James Blackmon Jr. scored 11 points and Josh Newkirk contributed 10 points.
Indiana was 38 percent from the field on 22-of-58 shooting, while Georgia Tech (18-15) went 48 percent from the floor on 27-of-56 shooting.
The first half was marked by streaks from both teams, starting with the Yellow Jackets’ 15-0 run in the game’s opening minutes to take a 17-4 lead with 13:36 remaining in the first half. IU responded with a 9-0 run to cut deficit to 19-15 before trimming the disadvantage to 20-17 on a jumper by Johnson with 8:16 remaining in the half.
The Hoosiers tied up the game at 24-24 after a Curtis Jones‘ dish to Blackmon led to a breakaway layup with 4:19 on the clock, however the Yellow Jackets would close out the half on a 10-3 run to take a 34-27 lead into the break.
Indiana came out of the locker room hot, scoring 12 points in the first 3:26 of the second half, including an 8-0 run to give IU its first lead since the early minutes of the first half. The run was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Newkirk and Blackmon, capped by a one-handed slam by Bryant at the 16:34 mark.
After the team’s traded the lead over the course of the next few minutes, a layup from Georgia Tech’s Tadric Jackson gave the Yellow Jackets a 45-44 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining, an advantage they would not surrender for the rest of the night. Jackson finished the game with 19 points, while Josh Okogie led the way for Georgia Tech with 24 points.
The Hoosiers kept within three points until the 10:23 mark as the Yellow Jackets closed out the game on a 26-15 run.
