Tigers title run ends in quarterfinals

There are days when the ball just is not bouncing the right way, Saturday it happened to Georgetown College men's basketball team. The No. 9 Tigers (27-7) for the fifth time under coach Chris Briggs, advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship.

Unfortunately, against No. 14 Louisiana State University the ball was just not falling. GC had 63 shots, 25 from three-point range, but managed just 23 makes – five from deep. Georgetown fell 87-66.

"I am just disappointed for the guys," Briggs said. "I hate it for them. I wanted to see them have a chance to play for the title. I'm proud of their heart and hard work, not just tonight – all season. Unfortunately, shots just weren't falling and give LSU-A credit for making the difficult shots and dominating the boards."

GC led early, 9-4, but the Generals (28-7) got going. The game had eight ties – all in the first half. LSU-A took a four-point halftime edge and ballooned it out to 16. However, the Tigers showed life late in the second half, cutting the deficit to seven.

This forced the Generals to call a timeout. They regained control from there with a 6-0. The game never got back within single digits.

Troy Steward led the charge with 16 points, while Shadell Millinghaus had 11. Darion Burns came through with seven points, one block, one assist and one steal. Quan Poindexter had eight points and three rebounds. Devon Rowan had seven points on 3-of-3 shooting. Jahyde Gardiner chipped in with six points and six rebounds. Eljay Cowherd and Malik Dow each had four points, while Jacob Conway finished with three.

This was GC's national record setting 37th appearance and 27th straight (also an NAIA record). The team's 68 wins in Kansas City is also tops in the country. The Tigers are now 68-37 at the national tournament.