Tigers hold on to improve to 17-0

Lindsey Wilson has always been a tough place for Georgetown to play regardless of either's team record or ranking. Thursday night was no different as #1 Georgetown had to hang on in the second half for a 73-69 win to move to 17-0 on the season.

After a split of the first 8 points of the game, Georgetown scored 6 straight with baskets from Jabrion Spikes, Dre Boyd and Tae Dozier. Lindsey Wilson came back with 4 to get within 10-8, but Georgetown turned in a run of 7 straight, capped by a three-pointer from Dozier. The Louisville native then took a run out pass from Andres Burney for a slam and a 21-10 lead with 11:34 to play in the half. The Blue Raiders scored 5 straight out of the timeout. Aden Nyekan stopped the run with a score inside. The lead stood at 25-19 with 6:57 to play, but 2 threes in 48 seconds from Hunter McCutcheon gave the Tigers their largest lead at 31-19 with 5:48 to play. It would be the Tigers' last points for over 3 minutes but the defense kept Lindsey Wilson at bay as the Blue Raiders only cut the margin down to 8. Georgetown got free throws from Jaquias Franklin and Darien Lewis for a 35-23 lead with 2:07 to go. Lindsey Wilson got the last 4 of the half for an 8-point Tiger lead at the break.

An opening 2nd half layup from Andres Burney gave Georgetown a quick 37-27 lead. Lindsey Wilson came back with a 9-1 run to cut Georgetown's lead to 38-36 with 16:26 to play. After an exchange of stops, Dre Boyd found room inside for a basket that started a 7-0 run capped by a Jaquias Franklin 3 and Darien Lewis layup. Baskets continued to exchange as Lindsey Wilson trimmed the margin down to 2 again at 49-47 with just under 11 minutes to go. Georgetown countered with an Andres Burney score, 2 Tae Dozier blocks and a Jaquias Franklin 3 for a 54-47 lead, sending the Blue Raiders to a timeout with 9:49 to play. After 2 LWC free throws, Franklin knocked down another 3 for an 8-point lead.

With 4:28 to go, Lindsey Wilson hit a 3 to cut Georgetown's lead to 66-62. Darien Lewis answered with his own long-range shot to push the lead back to 7. The Blue Raiders continued to hang in the game. With 2:49 to go, another 3 made the game 69-67 in favor of Georgetown. After a stop, the Blue Raiders had 2 chances at the rim to tie the game but came up empty. After a Tiger miss, Lindsey Wilson then went for the lead with a 3 but missed. Georgetown grabbed the board and took a timeout with 1:01 to go. Another miss inside gave Lindsey Wilson a chance, but with 32 seconds to go, Jabrion Spikes came up with a critical steal to get the ball back with the 2-point lead. On the ensuing possession, Andres Burney missed an inside jumper, but Tae Dozier raced in for a massive offensive rebound with 22 seconds to go. Lindsey Wilson quickly fouled twice to put Jaquias Franklin at the line for a 1-and-1. Franklin calmly knocked both down for a 71-67 lead with 17 seconds remaining. Lindsey Wilson got a bucket inside with 8 seconds to go to cut the lead to 2. The Blue Raiders then sent Jabrion Spikes to the line. Spikes was dead perfect on both foul shots to put the game out of reach.

Georgetown held on despite Lindsey Wilson shooting 52% in the second half. The Tigers held on thanks to 8 offensive rebounds and no turnovers in the half. Jaquias Franklin scored 13 of his 15 points in the 2nd half to help seal the win. Tae Dozier continued to show his two-way expertise with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. It was the 4th game of the year in which Dozier had 2+ steals and 2+ blocks. Andres Burney was big inside with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Dre Boyd was right there with 9 points and 7 rebounds.

The Tigers now get set for the MSC home opener one week from Thursday against Bethel. Tip time at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym is set for 7:30pm.