OXFORD, Miss. — Ben Lammers had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and added eight blocks, four rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead Georgia Tech of the final four of the NIT with a 74-66 win over Mississippi on Tuesday night.
Josh Okogie led the Yellow Jackets (20-15), who were seeded sixth in their bracket, with 26 points and Quinton Stephens had 10 with seven rebounds.
Georgia Tech never reached the semifinals in eight previous NITs and faces the winner of Cal State Bakersfield-Texas Arlington at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Sebastian Saiz had his third-straight NIT double-double and 23rd of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-14), who beat top-seeded Syracuse in the second round. Terence Davis added 15 points and Cullen Neal had 13.
Georgia Tech scored the first four points and never trailed, leading 39-30 at the half. Two free throws and a layup by Okogie had the Yellow Jackets up 56-42 with 12:36 to play. Ole Miss never got closer than four, the last time on a thundering dunk by Davis with 1:39 to play.
First-year coach Josh Pastner quickly called a timeout to quiet the home crowd. Okogie then made two free throws as Tech went 6 of 8 from the line to secure the win.
