Georgia Tech ready to pick up the pace

Expect to see the pace of play ramped up when Georgia Tech team returns to the court.

Head coach Josh Pastner wasn’t happy with the pace in Friday’s loss to Ohio, which means fans at McCamish Pavilion are likely to see more effort and intensity when the Yellow Jackets (2-1) host Sam Houston at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Offensively, I didn’t like our pace,” Pastner said. “If we’re not going to be a 3-point shooting team, which we haven’t been, we have to be able to get to the free-throw line a lot more. We were attacking the paint on some areas, but we can’t hope the referee is going to call a foul or hope that the ball is going to go in. That’s not the right strategy.”

There was a mixture of good things and bad things in the loss.

The good: Georgia Tech committed only 11 turnovers. Freshman point guard Justin Moore had eight assists and no turnovers. Ben Lammers scored a career-high 22 points.

The bad: Quinton Stephens continues to struggle on 3-pointers, going 0-for-4, and has hit only 26.9 percent in the first three game. Lammers and Josh Okogie combined for 68 minutes without an assist.

“We’ve just got to get back, keep working, keep getting better, keep improving,” Pastner said. “This will be a work in progress. That’s part of it. We’ll continue to improve and get back on the practice floor and hopefully try to get a win on Tuesday.”

Lammers, a junior, is beginning to emerge as an inside force. In addition to his 22 points, he had 11 rebounds and four blocks. He is averaging 16.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and six blocks. Lammers was asked to play all but two minutes of the Ohio game and was weary at the end.

“I was going to ride with Ben, that’s the type of guy I am,” Pastner said. “I’m going to go with guys, and if I feel someone is going, then I’m just going to go with them. If he’s earned my trust on that, then I’m going to let him play through mistakes. He’s just got to be tougher, and when he’s tired, he’s got to be able to make plays, even though he’s tired.”

Like Georgia Tech, Sam Houston (3-1) has beaten Southern and Tennessee Tech, but lost to Ohio. The Bearkats average 87.8 points, with John Dewey III (14.0 points) and Dakarai Henderson (14.8 points) the top scorers. Savannah native Jovante Spivey, a former junior college All-American at South Georgia State, averages 4.3 points.

Sam Houston doesn’t mind firing up 3-pointers — Henderson matched his career high with five against Tennessee Tech — and that led to a 16-1 start in that game. The Bearkats have been tenacious at times on defense and were particularly effective in limiting Tennessee Tech’s efforts on 3-pointers.

This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech ready to pick up the pace."