Dozier, Defense dominate Cumberland

Cumberland upset #1 Freed-Hardeman on Thursday and came to Georgetown on Saturday brimming with confidence. Georgetown took the threat seriously in building a 20-point lead less than 9 minutes into the game. Tae Dozier continued to make his case as one of the best two-way players in the country as he led Georgetown to a 99-66 romp over Cumberland.

Dre Boyd started the scoring with a dunk just a minute in. Cumberland followed with 2 free throws for the game's only tie. A free throw from Jabrion Spikes and a 3-point play from Gavin Stevens put Georgetown ahead for good. With an 8-6 lead, Aden Nyekan scored inside to spark a 26-2 run capped by a 3 from Jabrion Spikes as Georgetown exploded to a 34-8 lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the half. Cumberland got as close as 15 later in the half, but a 3 from Darien Lewis, a free throw from Gavin Stevens and a lob slam from Tae Dozier ended the threat as Georgetown took a 51-30 lead at the break.

Lewis started the 2nd half with another three to extend the lead back to 24. 5 points inside from Dre Boyd pushed the lead to 59-30 with 18:12 to play. Boyd sent the lead to 30 on the next possession. Georgetown kept the pressure on as Cumberland struggled to get stops. Another dunk rom Dozier gave the Tigers their biggest lead at 80-42 with 9:10 to go. Owen Shee provided the final highlights of the night as he scored 8 points in 7 minutes in the 2nd half of the rout.

Cumberland entered the game averaging 82.5 points per game. Georgetown held the Phoenix 16 below that mark and also held CU to just 31% shooting, including 1-14 from 3-point range. Demarius Boyd led Cumberland in Thursday's upset of Freed-Hardeman. On Saturday, he shot just 5-16 from the floor for 14 points. The Phoenix also committed 20 turnovers, leading to 30 Georgetown points.

As mentioned at the top, Tae Dozier filled the stat sheet once more. The junior finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. He was one of 6 Tigers in double figures. Gavin Stevens continues to thrive in the starting lineup, finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Darien Lewis scored 15 and had 4 steals. Jabrion Spikes scored 14, and Dre Boyd finished with 11.

Georgetown now gets set for a 1st place battle next Thursday as the Tigers take on Cumberlands at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym. Both teams enter the game tied atop the MSC with just 1 conference loss. Tip time is set for 7:30pm.