2nd Half explosion sends Tigers roaring by Bears

Whenever Georgetown and Shawnee State meet on the basketball court, it's bound to be a close, highly physical game. For 20 minutes on Tuesday night, the pattern delivered again. The second half proved a much different story as Georgetown completely dominated and turned a 2-point halftime deficit into a 91-63 win to improve to 7-0 on the year.

A day shy of his birthday, Dre Boyd got the Tigers off to a nice start with a 3-point play on the opening possession. He did it again on Georgetown's next possession for an early 6-4 lead. Tae Dozier came flying in on the baseline for a lob slam from Darien Lewis to give the Tigers an 8-4 lead with 16:35 to go in the half. A dunk from Ajani Blyden at the 14:20 mark gave the Tigers a 10-7 but would be the final points for over 4 minutes. In that time, Shawnee State reeled off 8 straight points, while Georgetown missed 5 straight shots and committed 4 turnovers. The Tigers continued to struggle from the floor as the half progressed. Andres Burney kept Georgetown close as he scored 10 points over the final 8:28 of the half, including a dunk with 3:49 to go that gave GC a 25-22 lead. Gavin Stevens connected from long range for a 32-30 lead with 50 seconds to go in the half. Shawnee answered with a bucket inside and after a Georgetown turnover, Scotty Browning fouled a Bear 3-point shooter with just 4 seconds left. Shawnee made 2 of 3 to take a 34-32 halftime lead. Despite a massive 27-11 edge on the glass, Georgetown trailed thanks to sloppy offensive play. The Tigers shot just 37%, including 2-11 from 3 and turned the ball over 8 times.

Whatever halftime talk Chris Briggs gave his team, the players got the message loud and clear. Georgetown started the 2nd half with an Ajani Blyden steal and dunk, followed by a lay-in from Dre Boyd. Blyden hit a corner 3 moments later for a 39-36 lead and another at the 16:04 mark for a 44-36 edge. The Tigers continued to attack inside, converting on 4 straight layups and a massive Tae Dozier dunk for a 54-41 lead with 13:21 to go. The run kept going and Shawnee State never had an answer. Georgetown made 16 of its first 19 shots in the half. With 9:57 to go, a lay-in from Jabrion Spikes gave Georgetown 32 points, matching its entire first half total. It was 32-9 Tigers at that point in the half and a 64-43 lead. Andres Burney then came back to life with a layup and dunk on back-to-back possessions for a 70-51 lead with 7:48 on the clock. The lead reached as high as 29 as Georgetown shot a staggering 69% in the 2nd half to turn the game into a rout.

The Tigers finished the night with a 48-22 edge on the glass and a 58-22 margin in points in the paint. In the 2nd half, Georgetown made 20 of its 26 2-point shots and only turned the ball over 3 times. The defense also kept Shawnee from threatening. The Bears shot just 33% with 7 turnovers after halftime.

Andres Burney led all scorers with 20 points on 10-13 shooting to go with 8 boards in 23 minutes off the bench. Dre Boyd continued his stellar work inside as he finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Jabrion Spikes scored all 11 of his points after halftime. Ajani Blyden finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds. Tae Dozier did a little of everything as he ended with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. Jaquias Franklin returned to action and scored 8 points off the bench.

The Tigers now go on the road Friday and Saturday to play in the Centennial Bank Classic, hosted by Bethel University in McKenzie, TN. Up first is a Friday night matchup against Florida College. Tip time is set for 7:00pm.