No. 12 Georgetown Drops Key Road Game at UT-Southern

PULASKI, Tenn. - The NAIA No. 12 Georgetown College men's basketball team had a chance to all but lock up the second seed in the upcoming Mid-South Conference Championship on Thursday night as they headed south for a crucial late season tilt at the University of Tennessee-Southern. The Tigers were in position to take a de facto three-game lead over the Firehawks with three games to play if they could find a victory, but the home-standing Firehawks had other ideas.

UT-Southern (20-7, 15-4 MSC) held Georgetown (22-4, 15-4 MSC) to 2-for-10 shooting from beyond the 3-point line in the opening half, and the Firehawks used that defensive effort to build a 13-point halftime lead on their way to the 82-59 win. The loss for the Tigers also means a season series split with the Firehawks, which muddies any potential tiebreaker picture.

The teams started out in what looked to be an even battle at the start. UT-Southern eased out to an 18-16 lead, and with 12:47 to play in the opening half the Firehawks launched a 7-0 run to stretch their lead to 25-16. A bucket from Kyran Jones with 9:17 left on the clock pulled Georgetown to within three at 25-22, but UT-Southern put together another 8-0 run over the next 2:22 helped UT-Southern stretch their lead to 33-22, and at the break, the Firehawks led 43-30.

Georgetown had trouble closing the gap in the second frame. After UT-Southern scored first in the period, it took the Tigers five minutes to close back to within the halftime margin of 13. But the Tigers got no closer at the time, as instead, the Firehawks stretched their lead to 20. Georgetown got the margin back down to 13 on a layup from Seth Johnson with 2:30 to go, but UT-Southern pushed its lead back out, and the Firehawks took the win 82-59.

Jones was one exceptionally bright spot for the Tigers, as he notched his 14th double-double of the season with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Derrin Boyd was the only other Tiger who scored in double-figures, as he scored 11. 

The Tigers were 23-for-61 (37.7%) from the field in the game, but they really struggled from deep, making only 3 of 20 (15%) 3-point attempts. At the foul line, Georgetown was 10-for-19 (52.6%).

Georgetown will return to action on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the road trip, when they head to Marietta, Georgia to take on the Life University Runnig' Eagles (6-18, 3-16 MSC). The opening tip is slated for 4 p.m. Eastern.