Tulane Green Wave at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Okogie, Lammers power Georgia Tech past Tulane

"I feel like if I'm able to keep playing hard, I'll be able to keep producing for my team," Okogie said. "Coach expressed that to me as well. He said that I've got to get offensive rebounds and putbacks."

Okogie set a Georgia Tech freshman scoring record with 38 points, Ben Lammers added 19 points and 12 rebounds and the Yellow Jackets beat Tulane 82-68 on Saturday night.

Quinton Stephens had 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Jackets (4-1) finished a five-game home stand to begin its first season under Pastner.

Cameron Reynolds finished with 20 points to lead Tulane (1-5), which is in its first season under former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy.

Okogie, who starred at nearby Shiloh High School, surpassed the previous freshman record of 33 points by Mark Price against Virginia in the 1983 ACC tournament and Dion Glover against Seton Hall in the 1998 NIT.

Okogie hit 10 of his first 16 shots from the field and had 23 points when his layup pushed the Jackets to a 58-49 lead with 9:35 remaining. Okogie's total was the most by a Tech player since Kenny Anderson scored 42 points against Howard in 1991.

"Beforehand, he had a tendency to take plays off," Pastner said. "Now I say that and you look at his numbers as a freshman. Pretty darned good, but he just continues to get better. The reason he scored offensively was that he was at his best defensively."

Lammers added four blocks to push his season total to 28 blocks, most in the nation.

Georgia Tech led 37-32 at halftime as Stephens combined with Okogie for 21 points and with Lammers for 15 rebounds.

Tulane, playing its first road game, missed its first six shots of the second half and trailed 48-32 on Lammers' 3-point play.

The Green Wave cut the lead to five three times, but Lammers answered with a dunk and a 12-foot turnaround jumper from the baseline that made it 65-58 with 6:13 remaining.

"I thought we played our worst game of the year," Dunleavey said. "We showed no toughness out there. We came out in the second half and we didn't play that great. We had it to a five-point game, and we broke down on a couple of our different basic principles."

Okogie followed with a pair of free throws, a dunk on a bounce pass from Lammers and he added a 3-point play for a 16-point lead at the 2:03 mark.

Malik Morgan scored 13 points and Kain Harris added 11 for the Green Wave.

BIG PICTURE

Tulane: Reynolds began the game leading the Green Wave with a 17.6 scoring average, but he picked up two early fouls and had just two points in 10 minutes of the first half. He missed six of his first eight shots before getting hot in the game's closing minutes.

Georgia Tech: The 6-foot-10, 227-pound Lammers, a junior, is becoming an inside force under Pastner, crashing the boards multiple times and pulling down five offensive rebounds. He's bulked up physically and playing more aggressively to become a top shot-blocker.

HEATH'S SEASON DEBUT

The Jackets had Josh Heath, suspended the first four games for violating team rules, back on the floor. Heath was projected to start at point guard. He played 23 minutes in a backup role to Justin Moore, who had 29. They each dished out five assists.

UP NEXT

Tulane: Visits University of New Orleans on Tuesday.

Georgia Tech: Visits Penn State on Tuesday.

How can I watch Tulane vs. Georgia Tech?

• TV Channel: Tulane at Georgia Tech 2021 College Basketball, week 3, is broadcasted on ACCNX.
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