Mekhi Lairy made the go-ahead basket with 12 seconds remaining and Miami of Ohio scored the game’s final nine points to defeat Georgia Tech 72-69 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Georgia Tech, which last March won the ACC tournament and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years, struggled down the stretch, missing its last six shots.
An inside basket by Michael Devoe gave Georgia Tech a 69-63 lead with 2:29 to go but the Yellow Jackets would not score again. The loss adds to a string of early-season frustrations over the past several years when the Yellow Jackets lost to the likes of Grambling, Wofford and Gardner-Webb.
After a 3-pointer by Lairy gave the RedHawks a 48-45 lead, the Yellow Jackets ran off 10 points and would hold the lead until the final 12 seconds.
Devoe scored 26 points, Jordan Usher 12 and Rodney Howard 10 for Georgia Tech.
Lairy led the RedHawks with 23 points and Dae Dae Grant added 15.
