Jackets put up fight, still lose

BOSTON - Paul Hewitt said his Georgia Tech basketball team exhibited a spark and effort Sunday evening that hadn't been present in recent outings.

Even so, the Yellow Jackets met a fate that's become familiar in the past few weeks - defeat.

No. 20 Boston College's 66-64 victory inside Conte Forum handed Georgia Tech its fifth consecutive loss. The Jackets' improbable 2-0 start to the conference season, which included a Jan. 8 win against Boston College, now seems quite distant.

It's the team's longest skid since 2003 and the second-longest in Hewitt's tenure.

The Jackets said it's a matter of perseverance, but that a win would do a lot to correct the ills of a rather rough January.

"A win would definitely get us over the hump," said freshman guard Lewis Clinch, who stepped up with 16 points.

"I feel like once we get a win, we'll get back on the right track. We're a good team; we're just young. ... And we don't feel like that's a problem for us."

Despite the appearance that adversity seems to be piling up for the Yellow Jackets (9-9, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), don't expect Hewitt to deliver any Rockne-esque orations of pep prior to Tuesday's game at Virginia Tech.

"They could always go dig ditches or work for a living," Hewitt said. "If I've got to talk to them about staying motivated, maybe they don't belong in college basketball. If you're going to drop your head after losing a ballgame, go find a job."

It appears Boston College star Craig Smith will have no problem finding work - in basketball - after graduating this spring.

The senior, now the school's fourth-leading scorer, followed up a 26-point effort in the initial meeting between the teams with 25 points Sunday.

He also had 13 rebounds, giving five games this season with 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.

Georgia Tech chopped away at what became a 12-point Boston College lead with 13:57 to play, trimming the deficit to 46-45 with a 13-2 run capped by one of Clinch's four 3-pointers.

A pair of untimely turnovers, one in transition, resulted in two, momentum-shifting dunks for Smith that pushed Boston College back out.

Again, Georgia Tech cut the lead - to 50-49, with 6:30 left - and another transition turnover killed a chance to take the lead.

Reach Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.