Illini Men Suffer First Loss to Georgia Tech

The Fighting Illini men blew a twelve point lead in the closing minutes of Tuesday night's game in Atlanta, and lost to Georgia Tech 67 to 64.

Coach John Groce said the main flaw in his team was obvious.

“I thought our execution was absolutely pathetic," he said.  "I thought it was awful.  Out of time outs – bad.  Bad passing, bad catching, we probably turned the ball over out of time outs this year than we did combined last year out of 36 games.”

Rayvonte Rice scored a game-high 24 points, but was shut out in the game's last ten minutes.

Freshman point-guard Jaylon Tate dished five assists and committed no turnovers, but got only 14 minutes of play.

With the win, Georgia Tech improves to 6-3 on the season. 

The Illini are now 7-1. They'll be heading back to Atlanta this weekend for a game against Auburn.