Balance carries Tigers to win over Midway

Georgetown kicked off the annual Central Bank Jim Reid Classic against Midway on Thursday night at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym. After a slow start, Georgetown found its way as 4 Tigers scored in double-figures en route to a 99-77 win over the Eagles to improve to 5-0 on the season.

Midway got out to an early 5-3 lead before Dre Boyd began his big night with 3 free throws to put the Tigers up a point with 16:40 to go in the 1st half. Darien Lewis followed with 3 straight as Georgetown took a 9-5 lead. The Tigers then went inside, getting easy lay-ins from Tae Dozier and Aden Nyekan to push the lead to 15-10 at the 13:04 mark. Midway charged back with a 10-4 run to grab a 20-19 lead over Georgetown at the halfway point. The Tigers' D then began to take over. Georgetown countered with a 19-2 over the next 7-plus minutes for a 38-22 lead with 3:23 to go in the half. In the run, Georgetown got 7 from Jabrion Spikes, 4 from Ajani Blyden, 4 from Scotty Browning and 2 each from Darien Lewis and Dre Boyd. Georgetown also forced Midway into 10 straight misses and forced 5 turnovers to grab control. Midway chipped back to a 12-point deficit at 42-30 going to halftime.

The teams traded baskets for the first 3-plus minutes with Georgetown leading 48-38. The Tigers followed with a 13-2 run to push the lead to 61-40 and force Midway to a timeout with 14:39 to go. Dre Boyd scored 5 of his 17 in the spurt. Jabrion Spikes also scored 5 and Darien Lewis hit a 3. Even after the timeout, Midway's defense still had no answers for the Tigers' versatile attack. The lead kept growing and was punctuated by a Gavin Stevens 3 to give GC a 72-46 lead with just under 12 minutes to play. Georgetown's lead reached 30 on two occassions, the first was on a three from Owen Shee for an 83-53 edge just 8 minutes to play. From there,  Midway cut the margin down by a small margin but not nearly enough to threaten the Tigers.

Consistent offense was a major key for the Tigers on the night. Georgetown shot exactly 57.1% in each half to come 1 point shy of the century mark. Dre Boyd turned in his best night as a Tiger with 18 points (6-7 FG) and 7 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Jabrion Spikes scored 17 as did Scotty Browning off the bench. Ajani Blyden recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tae Dozier scored 9. Darien Lewis finished with 8. Owen Shee had 7 in 19 minutes. Aden Nyekan scored 6 in 17 minutes. Gavin Stevens had 5 points and 4 rebounds. Braxton Ward rounded out the scoring with a late lay-up.

The Tigers also did strong work making the Eagles pay for mistakes. Georgetown converted 18 Midway turnovers into 27 points, giving the Tigers a +15 edge in points off TOs.

Georgetown closes out its turn in the Central Bank Jim Reid Classic on Friday night at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym. The Tigers take on West Virginia Tech at 8:00pm.