#1 Tigers grind out 18th straight win

Any win in conference play is a good one, given the varying styles in which a win can be had. Some are smooth. Some are high-flying. Some are physically tough and demanding. The last of those proved the case on Thursday night as Georgetown had to hold off a scrappy Bethel effort for an 86-77 win to remain undefeated at 18-0.

Georgetown got off to a slow start, scoring only 4 points in the first 4:30 of the game as Bethel jumped out to a 9-4 edge. The Tigers got going with an 8-2 run capped by a Gavin Stevens 3 and Tae Dozier free throws to give GC its first lead at 12-11 at the 12:26 mark. After a Bethel bucket, Georgetown countered with one from Aden Nyekan, followed by back-to-back threes from Jaquias Franklin for a 20-14 lead. Franklin scored twice more for 11 straight Tiger points. He got help soon from Hunter McCutcheon, who nailed a long 3 to give Georgetown a 28-20 lead with 7:41 to go until halftime. As was the case all night, Bethel would not relent or go away. Free throws and 3 cut the margin down to 3. Darien Lewis then hit a 3 and Dre Boyd grabbed an offensive board and putback to extend the lead back to 8 at 33-25. The pair teamed up moments later for scores as the Tigers grabbed their largest lead to that point at 39-27 with 4:10 to play. An Andres Burney jumper with 1:53 to go gave the Tigers a 42-29 lead, but Bethel scored the last 5 of the half to cut the lead to 8 at the break.

The Tigers started the 2nd half with a quick Tae Dozier lob slam off a long feed from Jabrion Spikes. Three free throws from Andres Burney pushed the lead out to 13 again. With a 51-38 lead, Bethel went on a 9-0 run to trim the margin all the way to 4. Georgetown then went to work inside. A 3-point play from Burney, free throws from Dre Boyd and Jaquias Franklin, and a dunk from Burney sent the lead right back to 13 at 60-47 with 12:41 to go. A jumper from Franklin with 11:20 to go gave the Tigers their largest lead of the night at 14. The game then took an even more physical tone, causing the majority of the half to be played at the free throw line. It played to Georgetown's advantage as the lead fluctuated between 8 and 14 points over the final 11 minutes of the night. The teams combined for 26 fouls and 38 free throw attempts in the 2nd half.

Andres Burney scored 14 of his 16 in the physical 2nd half, including 8-9 from the charity stripe. Jaquias Franklin led everyone in scoring with 18 in 27 minutes off the bench. Dre Boyd joined Burney with 16 on the night. All 9 Tigers who saw the floor got into the scoring column on the night.

The #1 Tigers now turn their attention to a massive showdown on Saturday as #2 Freed-Hardeman comes to Davis-Reid Alumni Gym. Tip time is set for 3:00pm.