Georgia Tech gets scoring help, defeats Clemson
Georgia Tech finally got the supporting offensive help it needed Thursday, and the result was a 75-63 win over Clemson.
With dependable center Ben Lammers producing 23 points and 10 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the season, and freshman Josh Okogie adding 13 points, the Yellow Jackets were able to get much-needed contributions from Quinton Stephens and Tadric Jackson.
Stephens wasn’t pretty from the field; he was only 5-for-15 from the floor, but he scored 16 points and added eight rebounds. Jackson played only 23 minutes, but he scored 10 points. Each player knocked down a pair of important 3-pointers.
The win improves Georgia Tech to 10-6 and 2-2 in the ACC. Clemson falls to 11-5, 1-3.
Three who mattered
Lammers: Lammers continued to show his growing confidence with his offensive game. Lammers isn’t afraid to step out and take the short jumper, and he had a pair of aggressive, thunderous slam dunks when getting the ball down low.
Stephens: After starting 1-for-7 from the field, Stephens was 4-for-8 in the second half and scored a season-high 16. His previous best was 15 at Tennessee. He also had eight rebounds, slightly more than his season average of 7.7.
Josh Heath: The point guard had his best all-around game of the season. He scored only five points (making both his field goal tries) and eight assists, one shy of his career best. Heath and Justin Moore combined for 11 assists and only three turnovers.
Turning point
Clemson led 37-36 with 16:38 left in the game when Stephens and Jackson each hit a 3-point basket to give Georgia Tech a lead it never relinquished. Clemson never got closer than three points the rest of the game.
Observations
Georgia Tech’s defense was spot on: The Yellow Jackets mixed a couple of different zones with a man-to-man and kept Clemson off guard most of the night. Georgia Tech limited Clemson to 36.7 percent from the floor and held Jaron Blossomgame, the team’s best player, to a hard-earned 20 points.
Lammers keeps getting better: The center continues to push his game to the next level. He has topped 20 points in the past two games, and after the game Clemson head coach Brad Brownell called him “an elite-level player.” It wasn’t just a case of a visiting head coach trying to be nice.
When Jackson responds, he can be a difference maker: The junior has no doubt tested head coach Josh Pastner’s patience; the coach was on him pretty hard in the first half after a couple of poor decisions. But the upside is certainly there.
Worth mentioning
The students showed up: The school gave away five 40-inch televisions to students after the game, which helped explain their largest turnout of the season. Pastner has made impassioned pleas to the students to turn out for the games, and he thanked them afterwards for their presence.
The free throws make a difference: The Yellow Jackets were 17-for-19 on free throws. It was only the second time all season that Clemson has been outscored from the line; the Tigers made 12-of-17.
Blossomgame moves up: With 20 points, Blossomgame passed Will Solomon and is now 13th on the program’s all-time scoring list.
They said it
Pastner on the offensive improvement: “We’ve spent the last two days working completely on our offense. We spent a lot of time, and we executed.”
Pastner on the play of point guards Moore and Heath: “They played the right way. When they play like that, good things happen.”
Brownell on Georgia Tech: “They outplayed us, outcoached us. They had a good game plan and they played at a high level.”
What’s next?
Georgia Tech begins a three-game road trip Sunday at North Carolina State. The 6:30 p.m. game will be televised by ESPNU.
This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech gets scoring help, defeats Clemson."