Lamar Washington tallied 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists on Saturday, helping Georgia Tech hold off Monmouth for a 79-67 win in Atlanta.
Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 23 points, while Mouhamed Sylla chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (6-4) who snapped a three-game losing streak despite committing 15 turnovers.
Stefanos Spartalis led Monmouth (5-5) with 14 points, followed by Justin Ray’s 13. Jason Rivera-Torres added 11 points and eight boards and Cornelius Robinson III totaled 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Hawks, who led by three points midway through the second half.
After trailing by a point at halftime, Monmouth used a 9-2 run to take a 44-41 lead on Robinson’s layup, forcing Georgia Tech’s timeout at the 14:06 mark.
Ray’s layup put the Hawks ahead 52-49, before Reeves’ dunk and Chas Kelley III’s 3-pointer gave Georgia Tech a two-point edge with 9:43 left.
Spartalis’ three-point play sliced Monmouth’s deficit to one with 6:39 remaining, but Washington’s pair of layups and Sylla’s dunk gave Georgia Tech a 66-59 lead with 3:35 left.
The Yellow Jackets took their first double-digit advantage on Reeves’ three-point play with 1:44 remaining, giving them a 73-62 edge.
After Robinson’s layup gave Monmouth an early 12-11 lead, Washington’s basket and Jaeden Mustaf’s five straight points gave Georgia Tech the game’s first two-possession lead at 18-12.
Jack Collins’ 3-pointer snapped the Hawks’ 4:37 scoreless drought, cutting Monmouth’s deficit to five at the 8:03 mark of the first half.
Washington’s mid-range jumper gave Georgia Tech a 26-22 lead, before Rivera-Torres’ triple and jumper stamped a 7-0 Monmouth spurt, giving the visitors a three-point edge with 1:15 left.
Ray’s basket with 17 seconds remaining was answered with Reeves’ three free throws with less than a second left, giving Georgia Tech a 32-31 halftime-lead.
