Tigers suffer stunning loss at Shawnee State

Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth, OH has long been proven to be a tough place to play and leave with a win. Georgetown was reminded of these facts again on Tuesday as Shawnee State roared back from a 16-point 2nd half deficit to upset the 5th-ranked Tigers, 83-78.

Shawnee State got out to an early lead as Georgetown struggled early shooting against the backdrop of grey walls. The Bears led 13-7 with 13 minutes to go in the 1st half before Cam Brooks-Harris knocked down 2 three-pointers. Tommy Thomas, starting in place of Kyran Jones, followed with a bucket to up Georgetown up, 16-15, midway through the half. Isaiah Mason came on with a late spark in the half, scoring 9 points over the final 8 minutes to give the Tigers a 38-35 lead at the break.

Georgetown came out strong to start the 2nd half as baskets from Jaquay Wales, Tae Dozier and Rashad Bishop pushed the lead to 44-35 just 1:05 into the 2nd. Tommy Thomas then scored 5 straight and the lead stood at 49-39. Just over 5 minutes in and with a 54-45 lead, Cam Brooks-Harris knocked down another 3 to push the lead to 12. After a defensive stop, Brooks-Harris was fouled while shooting another 3, forcing SSU into a timeout. He hit all 3 foul shots out of the timeout and Georgetown led, 60-45, with 14:10 to go. A 3 from Thomas gave the Tigers their biggest lead at 64-48 with 13:03 to go, before SSU began its comeback. Georgetown went scoreless over the next 4 minutes while the Bears scored 9 straight to get within 64-57 with just over 9 minutes to go. Kyran Jones and Tae Dozier scored to keep the lead at 10 with just over 8 to go, but it was clear the Bears still had momentum. A 3-point play followed by a jumper brought SSU within 5 with 7 minutes to go. Georgetown regrouped and pushed the lead back to 11 at 75-64 with 5:31 to go after a Jaquay Wales lay-in. The bucket pushed Shawnee State into another timeout as the Bears looked for another run.

Out of the timeout, SSU hit a 3. Georgetown missed a lay-in and free throw before Shawnee State hit 2 free throws. After another GC miss at the rim, SSU scored to get within 76-71 with under 4 to play. A 3rd straight missed layup, followed by 2 more Bear free throws and it was a 3-point game with just over 3 minutes to play. The Tigers then turned the ball over on the next possession and the Bears' Tyreke Johnson hit a 3 to tie the game at 76 with 2:54 to go, leaving Chris Briggs no choice but to call a timeout to stop the bleeding. It didn't work. Shawnee got the ball back out of the timeout and the Bears' Keith Germain hit a jumper and was fouled by Isaiah Mason. Germain hit the free throw and SSU had a 79-76 lead with 2 minutes to go. The Tigers missed a 3 and turned the ball over after an offensive rebound, effectively ending GC's chances for an escape on this night.

Cam Brooks-Harris led 5 Tigers in double figures with 14 points. Tommy Thomas scored 12, while Tae Dozier and Isaiah Mason added 11 each. Kyran Jones came off the bench and added 10 points with 7 boards. Free throws and 3-point shooting proved the difference as the Bears went 18-21 at the line, compared to Georgetown's 11-19. Shawnee also shot 50% from beyond the arc.

Georgetown will return to Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on Saturday to play in the Central Bank Jim Reid Classic against Wilberforce. Tip time is set for 1:00pm.