5 things to know from Georgia Tech’s game against Virginia

In the lair of one of the stronger teams in the country, Georgia Tech played exceptional offense for 15 minutes.

The Yellow Jackets pounced on Virginia turnovers and turned them into layups. They rotated the ball quickly to create and make open shots in the half-court offense. They drained 3-pointers when the opportunities arose. They just couldn’t make it last.

Tech lost 62-49 to No. 16 Virginia on Saturday, an unsurprising result in a matchup of a team with a disciplined, unrelenting defense against a team that going into Saturday’s night’s Duke-Miami game had more games under 50 (two) than the rest of the ACC combined (one). Virginia is 37-2 in home ACC games in the past five seasons.

“I don’t think our defense was the problem,” Tech guard Josh Okogie said. “I just think our offensive execution could have been better.”

With an opportunity to test recent offensive improvement against a team rated the seventh most efficient in the country by kenpom.com, Tech (11-8 overall, 3-4 ACC) didn’t fail, but didn’t sparkle. Center Ben Lammers struggled, the offensive rebounding faltered and turnovers were costly. However, the Jackets shot 45.2 percent from the field, a claim that only three other opponents of Virginia (15-3, 5-2) can make.

After three consecutive road games, Tech plays No. 10 Florida State on Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion.

Here are five observations from the game:

Tough game for Lammers

Lammers played his least effective game of the season, scoring seven points on 3-for-12 shooting and taking seven rebounds, none on offense. (His per-game average before Saturday: 14.9 points, 6-for-10.9, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 offensive.)

Virginia center Jack Salt (6-foot-11, 247 pounds) was physical against Lammers (6-10, 227) and gave him trouble with his size and reach. Lammers’ difficulties were compounded in that his teammates weren’t able to put him in position to score gimme baskets. Nearly all of his shots were highly contested.

“Ben Lammers is a good player, and (Salt) made him earn (his points),” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “He played with his hands free. He fought his position and showed his strength, and that was impressive.”

When the game was lost

Tech trailed 29-28 with 4:26 to play in the first half after Okogie drove for a basket to complete a well-executed possession in which the ball quickly went in and out of the post, from Corey Heyward to Lammers to Justin Moore to Okogie. The Jackets had cut a lead that was once 12 down to one. However, Virginia answered with a second-chance basket and then Tech gave the ball up with an Okogie offensive foul.

Cavaliers forward Isaiah Wilkins (a graduate of Greater Atlanta Christian and the stepson of Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins) scored on a fadeaway over Lammers to return the lead to five. Tech finished the half going empty on its last six possessions, trailed by seven at the half and never posed a serious threat after halftime.

Mistakes on offense

As was the case in the 62-61 loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday, the Jackets left points on the floor that, in this case, might not have altered the outcome, but would have pushed the Cavaliers a little harder.

In the first half, guard Josh Heath cut to the basket to receive an inbounds pass but missed a makeable layup. Early in the second half, Moore, who scored 10 points after scoring 11 in the previous four, practically was alone under the basket but couldn’t handle a lob pass, resulting in a turnover.

“We had some short shots that we missed some layups,” Tech coach Josh Pastner said. “That’s just been an Achilles’ heel for us.”

The continued struggles around the rim were magnified by the fact that Tech extended only two possessions with offensive rebounds, the Jackets’ season low. Tech had no second-chance points to nine for Virginia.

Not bad, not great

Two players who have been on top of their games recently, Heath and forward Quinton Stephens, were effective, but not as much so. Stephens, who scored a combined 56 points in the past three games, with 11 3-pointers, scored six points on a pair 3-pointers, but tied his career high with 13 rebounds. Heath, who scored 25 points and had a 24/10 assist/turnover ratio in the past three games, had eight points with two assists, two turnovers and no rebounds. His minutes were cut in favor of Moore and backup Corey Heyward.

“They didn’t really leave me, necessarily, so it was kind of tough to get a couple shots, kind of get a rhythm,” Stephens said.