Tigers hold on for sweep of Patriots

Georgetown and Cumberlands met two weeks ago in Williamsburg with the Tigers coming out on top in an intense, fast-paced battle. In front of a packed Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on Thursday night, Georgetown built a 19-point 2nd half lead but had to hang on for a 91-85 win. With the result, Georgetown completes the regular-season sweep and also takes sole possession of first place in the Mid-South Conference as the second round of conference play begins on Saturday.

Without Dre Boyd in the lineup, Georgetown showed its toughness inside as the Tigers grabbed 2 offensive rebounds on the opening possession, leading to a basket from Jabrion Spikes. Gavin Stevens scored the next 6 for the Tigers on two three-pointers for an 8-4 lead. Cumberlands tied the game at 8, but Stevens connected on another 3 with 14:34 to play in the half to put the Tigers back on top. The Patriots kept chipping away and took their first lead at 16-15. With a series of exchanges, Cumberlands had a 29-26 lead with just under 6 minutes to play when Darien Lewis dropped a foul line jumper, followed soon by a Tae Dozier 3 to put the Tigers back up, 31-29, with 4:17 to go. After a brief tie, a Lewis free throw and Dozier lay-up put Georgetown ahead the rest of the way in taking a 41-35 lead to halftime.

Georgetown needed less than 2 minutes in the second half to take a 10-point lead at 47-37. After UC free throws, Gavin Stevens connected from deep again for an 11-point lead. Tae Dozier then followed with a block and lay-up to give the Tigers a 52-39 lead with 17:30 to go and send Cumberlands to a timeout. The Tigers kept the pressure on and with 12:45 to play, Jabrion Spikes gave the Tigers their largest lead at 67-48. With 11:19 to go and a 71-53 deficit, Cumberlands rolled off 6 straight. It was part of a 12-1 run that saw the Tigers go more than 6 minutes without a basket. Cumberlands cut the lead down to 72-65, but another Gavin Stevens three broke the drought to give Georgetown breathing room with 5:15 to play. The Patriots already had momentum and kept coming as they ultimately got within 3 at 79-76 with just over 2 minutes to play. Gavin Stevens was called upon again after an Aden Nyekan offensive rebound. Stevens delivered another 3 to double the lead to 82-76 with 1:40 to go. From there, Georgetown hit 7 of its final 9 free throws to deny Cumberlands the comeback bid and complete the sweep.

Gavin Stevens shot 6-10 from 3-point range en route to a 21-point night. Darien Lewis continued his strong play of late with 18. Tae Dozier filled the stat sheet once more with 17 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Jabrion Spikes tallied 13 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.

The Tigers now begin the second round of MSC play as they host Lindsey Wilson this Saturday. Tip time from Davis-Reid Alumni Gym is set for 3:00pm.