Georgia Tech second-half surge swamps Boston College

Georgia Tech center Ben Lammers goes for a rebound against Boston College at McCamish Pavilion Feb. 11, 2017 (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)

Georgia Tech center Ben Lammers goes for a rebound against Boston College at McCamish Pavilion Feb. 11, 2017 (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)

After a disastrous first half in which forward Quinton Stephens went down with an apparent ankle injury, Georgia Tech rallied behind guard Tadric Jackson to defeat Boston College 65-54 Saturday night at McCamish Pavilion.

Jackson came off the bench and caught fire after halftime, scoring 20 of his career-high 29 points to help deliver a result critical for the Yellow Jackets’ postseason hopes. Tech was down as many as 15 points in the first half and needed a late flurry just to shoot 16.7 percent (5-for-30) for the half.

Jackson led a second-half resurgence in which the Jackets were a completely different team, scoring 50 points, the most for a half this season against a Division I opponent. It enabled Tech to overcome a 22-15 halftime deficit.

Tech did it without Stephens, who left the game at the 14:52 mark with an ankle injury. It was a re-aggravation of an injury suffered in the Notre Dame game. Stephens did not return to the game.

Tech (15-10 overall, 6-6 ACC) held the Eagles to 32.8 percent shooting from the field, 13 percentage points below its ACC average. Boston College (9-17, 2-11) was led by guard Jerome Robinson’s 17 points.