Ryan Taylor and Vic Law combined for 34 points, and Northwestern won its third consecutive game, a 67-61 victory over Georgia Tech in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game Wednesday at Evanston, Ill.

Taylor scored 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-9 success from 3-point range. Law, who had 10 points in the first half, finished with 14. He was 6 of 12 from the floor with nine rebounds and four assists.

Georgia Tech trailed by 28 points in the second half but rallied to cut the deficit to seven points with 1:51 remaining on a pair of Jose Alvarado free throws.

The Yellow Jackets had a chance to get to within five, but Brandon Alston missed a well-contested layup, and Law answered on the other end with a basket to seal the win with 49 seconds left.

Northwestern (6-1) also got 12 points and 10 rebounds from Dererk Pardon.

Georgia Tech (4-2) got a season-high 24 points from Alvarado. James Banks III came off the bench to score 12 points, grab a game-high 12 rebounds and block three shots before fouling out.

Northwestern used a couple of 7-0 runs to take a 40-20 lead into halftime. Law scored 10 points in the first half, but the Wildcats' biggest hoop may have come just before the horn when Anthony Gaines knocked down a well-contested 3-pointer. It was his first trey of the season.

The momentum continued into the second half. Northwestern began with a 10-2 run, taking a 50-22 edge to establish control of the game.

The Wildcats successfully defended the 3-point shot against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets average 25 3-pointers per game, but Northwestern allowed them to sink only three in the first half and four for the game on 12 attempts.

Northwestern improved to 3-2 all-time against Georgia Tech. All meetings have come in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Georgia Tech won last year's game 52-51 in Atlanta on a last-second shot.

Northwestern plays again Saturday at Indiana in the Big Ten opener. Georgia Tech plays St. John's on Saturday in the Hoophall Miami Invitational in Florida.

--Field Level Media