Men's Hoops Claims 12th MSC Title

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Questions were being asked about the Georgetown College men's basketball team entering the Mid-South Conference Championship after a disappointing finish to the regular season. After their performance on Monday night, however, those questions have all been answered, and the Tigers are headed to the dance with momentum firmly on their side.

The Tigers (25-7) avenged a pair of earlier season losses to the Thomas More University Saints (27-4)  with a grinding 68-59 win that secured the Tigers their 12th MSC tournament title, and their third in the last four seasons.

Early in the first half, it looked like the top-seeded Saints had picked up where they left off in the regular season. TMU opened the game on a 7-0 run, and they eventually opened a 10-point lead at 12-2. Georgetown, though, stuck with their game plan, and they fought their way back into the game with a 7-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 12-9 with 12:45 to play in the opening half. The game took on a physical tone, and with nine minutes to go, Cam Brooks-Harris sank a pair of free throws that gave Georgetown their first lead of the night at 18-17, and it remained tight for the rest of the half. At the break, TMU held a single-point edge, 32-31.

A 7-0 run that included a pair of buckets from Jayrese Williams helped Georgetown take a 40-34 lead early in the second frame, but TMU battled back and took the lead at 44-42 with 12 minutes to play. Over the next 10 minutes of action, neither team led by more than three points, and there were three tie scores and three lead changes. TMU led 55-52 with just more than four minutes left when a drive and kick-out from Jaquay Wales led to a right wing corner triple from Drew Lamont that knotted things at 55, and moments later, Wales gave the Tigers the lead at 57-55. TMU managed to tie the score at 57, but with 2:08 to play, Wales found Derrin Boyd who gave GC a lead they did not relinquish. The Tigers finished the game on an 11-2 run, a run that was punctuated by a fast break dunk from Boyd with 11 seconds left as Georgetown claimed the MSC crown, 68-59.

Boyd was named the outstanding player of the tournament. The freshman from Princeton, Kentucky averaged 19.7 points per game in the tournament, and he was 21-for-42 (50%) from the floor, 9-for-17 (52.9%) from deep, and 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the foul line. He also pulled in 13 rebounds, and he had 15 assists to only eight turnovers in the three games.

On this night, Boyd poured in 19 markers to lead the Tigers' offensive effort, Wales and Brooks-Harris each added a dozen, and Kyran Jones finished with his 18th double-double of the season - and his fourth consecutive - as he recorded 10 points and 13 rebounds. Wales dished out seven assists in the game as well.

Georgetown was 28-for-57 (49.1%) from the floor in the game, and 6-for-16 (37.5%) from long range. The Tigers only got to the foul line nine times, where they made six attempts, and the Tigers held the Saints to just nine points off the bench in the game.

The Tigers know they will be a part of the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship, which begins on campus sites on Friday, March 11. The Tigers will be in the tournament field for the 31st consecutive season and the 41st time overall. Only the Kansas Jayhawks have as many consecutive national tournament appearances at any 4-year collegiate level. The 2022 NAIA men's basketball bracket will be announced on Thursday, March 3, at 8 p.m. Eastern.