Okogie pours in 30 in Jackets’ upset of ’Canes

ATLANTA — Josh Okogie scored a season-high 30 points, Jose Alvarado added 12 points and Georgia Tech upset No. 15 Miami, 64-54, on Wednesday night.

Dewan Huell, with 13 points, was the only player to score in double figures for Miami (12-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Anthony Lawrence and Bruce Brown each had nine points.

It’s been a tough start to the season for Georgia Tech, which was without its best player, Okogie, for the first eight games because of an NCAA suspension and a finger injury.

The Yellow Jackets lost to Grambling State, Wofford and Wright State and were blown out at Georgia before falling short in their ACC opener against Notre Dame, but they earned a signature win by holding tough against a Miami defense that ranked in the top five nationally in several defensive categories.

The Hurricanes contested nearly every pass and shot throughout the game, but Georgia Tech never trailed in the second half after Ben Lammers stole the ball from Lonnie Walker IV and hit a 14-footer to make it 36-32.

A 14-2 run by the Jackets made it 46-34 as Miami began the second half missing 11 of its first 13 shots. The Hurricanes nearly recovered, pulling within two on Chris Lykes’ two free throws with 3:47 remaining, but that was a close as they got.

Miami went on a 10-0 run in the first half, taking a 17-8 lead on Walker’s layup. Georgia Tech missed nine straight shots during that span and began the game for 18 from the field.

Huell blocked Okogie’s fast-break layup attempt, and Brown grabbed the rebound to feed Lykes for a 3 that made it 22-15. But the Hurricanes’ second-half problems were foreshadowed in the closing minutes of the first.

Walker tried to make an alley-oop pass to a teammate trailing in transition, causing obvious frustration from Miami coach Jim Larranaga. Lammers grabbed the ball off the backboard and fed Okogie for a layup that made it 28-all at intermission.

The Hurricanes are heading back to play a game at Coral Gables, finally, after playing six straight away from home. Miami had just one home game in 42 days, but regardless of the game site, the Hurricanes can’t afford to let this loss linger. Their next three games are against ranked opponents, and they’ll need to tighten up their defense even more. With a deeper, more athletic roster, Miami let what could’ve been an easy win slip away against a team that hit just 1 of 10 3-point attempts. Georgia Tech got to the rim too often and hit 17 of 23 free throws. Miami was just 8 for 11 from the line.

Miami will host No. 24 Florida State on Sunday, travel to No. 25 Clemson on Jan. 13 and return home to face No. 2 Duke on Jan. 15.