Alston, Alvarado lead Georgia Tech past Lamar

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ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Alston scored 17 points and Jose Alvarado scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half Friday to lead Georgia Tech to an 88-69 win over Lamar.

Alston and Alvarado each made a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch as Georgia Tech (1-0) made 12 from beyond the arc, the most the Yellow Jackets have made in a game since coach Josh Pastner was hired before the 2016-17 season.

T.J. Atwood paced Lamar (1-1) with 17 points and six rebounds. Nick Garth scored 15 and Josh Nzeakor added 12 points.

with Curtis Haywood II scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half, including three consecutive 3-pointers in the middle of the period as the Jackets built a 36-15 lead before going into the break up 44-22.

The Cardinals struggled to both hang onto the ball and to shoot it. They committed 16 turnovers, which led to 17 Georgia Tech points, made just 9 of 26 from the field and missed all five of their free-throw attempts.

BIG PICTURE

Lamar: The Cardinals of the Southland Conference didn’t give up much size, and they were nearly as athletic at Georgia Tech, but they hurt themselves badly with slopping passes and ballhandling, especially in the first half.

Georgia Tech: The Jackets at least partially checked a couple boxes on head coach Josh Pastner’s preseason wish list, as he said he wants Tech to play with more tempo, and shoot the 3-point shot much more effectively than they did in his first two seasons when they were among the least effective teams in the nation shooting from distance.

UP NEXT

Lamar: Will play Sunday at East Carolina to finish up a two-game eastern road trip.

Georgia Tech: Plays Tuesday at No. 6 Tennessee.

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