Georgia Tech men lose to another mid- major, falling 83- 73 to Mercer

Two days after a humbling loss to Georgia State, Georgia Tech welcomed another in- state opponent to McCamish Pavilion and lost again. Playing loose 3- point defense against a team they expected to rely heavily on that shot, the Yellow Jackets were scorched from behind the arc in an 83- 73 defeat by Mercer on Friday night.

The two home losses to in- state mid- major opponents constitute a disastrous start for the Jackets, who entered the season as a contender for their first NCAA tournament berth since 2010. Tech is 0- 2 for the first time since the 1974- 75 season.

Coach Josh Pastner accepted responsibility. “The fans have every right to be upset,” Pastner said. “And the person to be upset at is myself, not the players. It’s me.”

Mercer was 12 for 25 from3- point range, many of them on clean looks at the basket. Less than 48 hours after losing in four overtimes, Tech had difficulty staying in front of the Bears’ array of perimeter shooters. “That’s all we talked about was take the 3 out,” Pastner said. “Just no 3s. Our energy level just was not there tonight.”

Against Georgia State and against Mercer, the defense has been weak. The Panthers’ transition gamewas too fast for the Jackets on Wednesday and then the Bears manipulated Tech to create open shots. Last season, Tech finished 33rd nationally in defensive field- goal percentage, at 39.9%. Georgia State shot 48.8% and Mercer made 44.3% of its shots.

The Jackets clearly miss the shot- blocking and shot- altering presence of James Banks, who backboned the 1- 3- 1 zone that has been Tech’s trademark in Pastner’s tenure. The Jackets had one block Friday after averaging 4.6 last season.

Moses Wright scored a team- high 20 points for Tech on 9- for- 16 shooting but had only five rebounds in 39 minutes of play. FelipeHaase and Neftali Alvarez both scored 17 to lead Mercer.