Games 702-704: Saturday tripleheader

704 - Gonzaga at San Diego
February 16 at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, CA
ESPN

703 - Stephen F. Austin women at Northwestern State
February 16 at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, LA
espn3

Stephen F. Austin's top three players were excellent and the Lumberjacks remained unbeaten in Southland Conference play with an 87-67 win.

Stephanie Visscher scored 21 points and missed just one of her 10 field goal attempts, Imani Johnson also scored 21 and Chanell Hayes added 18 points as the visitors turned a five-point cushion late in the third into a comfortable win.

Stephen F. Austin, which hit 62% of its field goal attempts and had 26 assists on 33 made baskets, won its 13th consecutive game (it hasn't lost since getting crushed at New Mexico, December 20) and moved to 12-0 in league play.

702 - Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
February 16 at Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA
NBC Sports Washington

That's win No. 20 for Tech, which got 29 points from Kerry Blackshear Jr. to hang on, 70-64.

This will be the fourth consecutive season the Hokies have won at least 20 games, just the second time in school history that has occurred. Led by future NBA players Dell Curry and Perry Young, the program won at least 20 in five consecutive seasons from 1981-1986.



Other games watched:

Northwestern at Nebraska
Arizona State at Utah

Games 477-478: Wednesday doubleheader

478 - LSU at Arkansas
January 10 at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, AR
SEC Network

Not sure we've seen a worse shooting half at this site than Arkansas' first 20 minutes. The Razorbacks were 6-of-33 (!) in the first half and went down 41-21 at the break on their way to a 75-54 loss.

LSU, on the other hand, was excellent in both halves (55%, 50%). Point guard Tremont Waters struggled with his shot (just 3-of-10 from the field), but handed out eight assists, while the inside belonged to the visitors as 6-11 Duop Reath (11 points, 5-of-10 shooting) and 6-10 Aaron Epps (13 points, 11 rebounds, 5-of-7 shooting) led a 44-26 advantage in the paint.

477 - Duke at Pittsburgh
January 10 at Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA
ESPN2

Complete dominance from Duke, which got 16 points and 15 rebounds (nine offensive!) from Marvin Bagley in an 87-52 win.

The Blue Devils, who lead the country in scoring, jumped out to leads of 10-0, 32-12 and 43-13 (at that point Pittsburgh was out-scoring Bagley just 13-12), had 21 assists to just six turnovers and had six score in double figures.

Game 332 - Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech

February 28 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA

The Yellow Jackets celebrated senior night on Tuesday, just before the immediate future of the program led the way to a victory.

Junior Ben Lammers was fantastic, scoring seven of his game-high 20 points during a key stretch late and freshman Josh Okogie had two of the biggest second-half baskets and the game-clinching defensive play as Tech kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 61-52 win.

This was my first time seeing Lammers in person since he became a starter and one of the country's most-improved players and he didn't disappoint. The 6-10 center showed a variety of impressive moves around the basket and a solid mid-range jumper, along with his usual excellent defense (he leads the Atlantic Coast Conference & is second nationally in blocked shots). Lammers' three-point play on an up-and-under move at the 4:10 mark put Tech up 51-47, and he later added the last of his points on a dunk that gave the Yellow Jackets a 58-52 cushion with just over a minute left.

Okogie, a freshman from nearby Shiloh High School, had just five points through the first 34 minutes of the game, but came alive late. His three-point play on a great drive and finish at the rim made it 54-50, and after Michael Young pulled Pittsburgh to within two with a lay-in at the 2:57 mark, which turned out to be the Panthers' last points of the night, Okogie hit a pretty, pull-up jumper over Young and the Yellow Jackets led 56-52 with two minutes to go.

A desperate Pittsburgh tried to cut a seven-point deficit to five with about 30 seconds left, but Okogie took a charge that effectively wrapped up Tech's eighth conference win.

Young, who came into the night as the ACC's leading scorer at 20.2 points, led the Panthers with 16. Young picked up eight straight Pittsburgh points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch that saw the visitors grab a slim, 44-43 lead at the 6:30 mark. It was a 47-46 Pittsburgh lead on a three-point play by Jamel Artis off a nice give-and-go with Sheldon Jeter. Quinton Stephens' wild runner with just under five minutes to go gave Tech the lead for the rest of the night.

Games 165-166 - Early afternoon hoops

166 - (7) Florida A&M women vs. (2) North Carolina A&T
MEAC quarterfinals
March 9 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA
espn3.com

165 - (9) Syracuse vs. (8) Pittsburgh
ACC second round
March 9 at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
ESPN