Lammers has 20 as Jackets top Pitt

Georgia Tech 61, Pittsburgh 52

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

Georgia Tech, expected to finish near the bottom of the ACC under firstyear 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 (1713, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), Lammers’ 3-point play pushed the advantage to four points.

ACC scoring leader Michael Young led Pitt (1515, 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.