Pierre scores 30, Jacksonville State knocks off Georgia Tech 81-64 in NIT

ATLANTA (AP) — Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 30 points and Jacksonville State beat Georgia Tech 81-64 on Tuesday night in the NIT for coach Ray Harper's 600th career victory.

Jacksonville State (23-12) earned its first NIT victory in program history.

Pierre had five rebounds, seven assists, and three steals for the Gamecocks (23-12). Marcellus Brigham Jr. scored 16 points and added five rebounds. Jao Ituka had 14 points and went 5 of 11 from the field (4 for 9 from 3-point range).

Duncan Powell and Lance Terry each scored 15 points for the Yellow Jackets (17-17). Naithan George also had 14 points, five assists and three steals.

Jacksonville State took the lead with 18:13 remaining in the first half and did not give it up. Pierre led his team in scoring with 15 points in the first half to help put them up 45-33 at the break.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.