Nov. 11, 2016
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AP – Josh Okogie scored 18 points, Ben Lammers added 15 points and coach Josh Pastner won his Georgia Tech debut with a 70-55 victory over Tennessee Tech on Friday night.
Quinton Stephens finished with 12 points and six rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.
Lammers’ output was a career high, as were his five blocks. Okogie was 7 for 9 from the field and had five rebounds.
Micaiah Henry finished with 15 points and Ja’Cardo Hawkins added 10 points for Tennessee Tech.
Pastner went 167-73 and led Memphis to four NCAA tournaments in seven seasons before joining the Yellow Jackets last spring. He’s beginning a major rebuilding project with one of the nation’s least experienced rosters.
Pastner had four players making their first college start — Lammers, Okogie, Abdoulaye Gueye and Justin Moore. Stephens started 14 games last season.
The Jackets were without Josh Heath, who was suspended for the first four games of the season for violating team rules.
Georgia Tech never trailed after Stephens’ jumper gave the Jackets a one-point lead in the first 5 minutes of the first half.
Okogie’s 3-pointer in front of the Jackets’ bench pushed the lead to 61-48 with 3:59 remaining. Stephens’ 3 made it 64-50 a couple of possessions later.
Tennessee Tech guard Aleksa Jugovic began the night shooting 39.4 percent in 259 career attempts on 3s, but he went just 1 for 6 beyond the arc and finished with five points.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles went 19-12 last season, 11-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. They were picked in preseason to finish fourth in the East Division for the second straight year.
Georgia Tech: The departures of last year’s most productive players — Marcus Georges-Hunt, Adam Smith, Charles Mitchell and Nick Jacobs — left a major scoring and rebounding void, about 53 points and 21 boards per game. Pastner said earlier that he likely will change the starting lineup a few times in November to decide who best fits the role.
UP NEXT
Tennessee Tech: Hosts Central Michigan on Monday. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Georgia Tech: Host Southern on Monday. Southern is the second of five straight home games for the Jackets.
