Lammers Has 20 As Georgia Tech Tops Pitt 61-52

ATLANTA (AP) — Ben Lammers scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, Josh Okogie added 14 points and Georgia Tech beat Pitt 61-52 on Tuesday night.

Georgia Tech, expected to finish near the bottom of the ACC under first-year coach Josh Pastner, has a chance for a .500 finish in the league when it closes its regular season at Syracuse on Saturday.

A 3-point play by Jamel Artis gave the Panthers their last lead at 47-46 with five minutes left. After a basket by Quinton Stephens gave the lead back to Georgia Tech (17-13, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), Lammers' 3-point play pushed the advantage to four points.

ACC scoring leader Michael Young led Pitt (15-15, 4-13 ACC) with 16 points. Cameron Johnson had 13.

Georgia Tech led only 51-50 when Okogie, playing with four fouls, converted a big 3-point play. Okogie was fouled by Chris Jones while scoring on a layup, and he made the free throw to push the lead back to four points. After a layup by Young, Okogie added a fall-away jumper. A jam by Lammers with 1:08 remaining pushed Georgia Tech's lead to 58-52.

Georgia Tech led 20-15 before the Panthers closed the first half with a 13-5 run for a 28-25 halftime lead.

Pitt struggled with turnovers, especially when trying to push the ball inside, in the first 10 minutes of the second half. After committing only six turnovers in the first half, the Panthers had six quick giveaways in the second half, and the Yellow Jackets took advantage.

Lammers had a jam, a layup and two free throws for six straight points that gave Georgia Tech a 33-31 lead.

BIG PICTURE

Pitt: The Panthers finished 1-7 in ACC road games, with the only win coming at Boston College on Feb. 8. ... After making a jumper for the Panthers' first points, Young's next shot, a 3-pointer, missed everything. Georgia Tech's students in the crowd chanted "Air Ball! Air Ball!" every time he touched the ball the remainder of the first half. Young missed his final five shots from the field in the half and made 6 of 14 from the field for the game. ... Jamel Artis, the ACC's fourth-leading scorer, had 12 points, seven below his average. ... Pitt had 13 turnovers.

Georgia Tech: Okogie lost his left shoe near the Georgia Tech basket late in the half. As the action went the other way, Okogie stopped to pick up the shoe and then changed his mind, tossing the shoe out of bounds and running back up the court with just a sock on the foot. Action went back and forth before coach Josh Pastner finally called a timeout so he could play the final 1:09 of the half wearing two shoes. ... The Yellow Jackets' seniors were honored before their final home regular-season game, including starters Josh Heath, Corey Heyward and Stephens.

UP NEXT

Pitt: Visits Virginia on Saturday

Georgia Tech: Visits Syracuse on Saturday

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