Burney's perfect 2nd half powers Tigers to 2nd Round

Georgetown took on LSU-Shreveport in the 1st Round of the 2025 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on Friday night. Georgetown led most of the way, but pulled away late, led by a perfect shooting 2nd half from Andres Burney, en route to a 92-78 win to advance.

LSU-Shreveport was set to present an interesting challenge to Georgetown as the Pilots entered the game among the best 3-point shooting teams in the country at nearly 41%. They connected on their 1st try just 32 seconds into the game for the first points. Jabrion Spikes countered with a conventional 3-point play after a Jaquias Franklin steal to tie the game with 18:25 to play in the first half. Moments later, Andres Burney picked up 2 fouls in a matter of 10 seconds and would sit the rest of the half. Jaquias Franklin turned his defense to offense with 5 straight points to give the Tigers an 8-3 lead. After a Pilot basket, Aden Nyekan stepped up and drilled a straightaway 3 for an 11-5 lead with 15:45 to go. With 13:44 to go, Gavin Stevens hit a 3 to push the Tiger lead to 9. Jabrion Spikes followed with a tap-in of his own miss. A Tae Dozier lob slam then sent LSUS to a timeout as Georgetown capped a 20-4 run over 7 minutes.

The Pilots scored 5 straight to get within 8 at 20-12, but the Tigers countered with a Stevens lay-up and Darien Lewis dunk to take a 24-12 lead with 9:26 to play. The Pilots hit a 3 to start a run of 7 straight to get within 5. An exchange of threes kept the margin the same as the clock went under 7 minutes to play in the half. A Dre Boyd jumper and dunk, followed by a slam from Lewis, pushed the edge back out to 11 with 5 minutes to play. The teams continued to trade baskets until halftime, which saw Georgetown have a 39-32 lead.

LSUS scored the opening basket of the 2nd to get the game to 5. That's when Andres Burney began a 2nd half for the ages. He grabbed an offensive board and stuck the putback for his first points. After a Pilot 3 to cut Georgetown's lead to 4, Burney scored again inside to calm the proceedings. Burney free throws with 16:21 to play gave Georgetown a 45-37 lead. He took the run to the other end with a big block inside and was rewarded for it with another score. The Pilots hit a 3. The Tigers went back to Burney, who scored inside to give the Tigers a 49-40 lead with 15 minutes to go and cap a run that saw the big man score Georgetown's 1st 10 points of the 2nd half.

The Pilots hit another 3 with 12:38 to go to cut Georgetown's lead to 53-47. Georgetown went back to Burney inside to get 2 back. The teams continued to trade baskets going under the 9-minute mark. Georgetown held a 62-58 lead, but got 4 straight from Tae Dozier for breathing room. The breath was short as the Pilots nailed another 3 to cut the lead to 5 with 8 minutes left.

It was not until the game went under 6 minutes to play that Georgetown finally began to separate. Leading by 6, Jaquias Franklin hit a midrange jumper. He then grabbed a rebound after a Darien Lewis steal and found Andres Burney coming down the lane for a monster slam to give GC a 74-64 lead with 5 minutes to go. On Georgetown's next possession, Burney again found open space in the paint for yet another slam. Burney kept it going with another block which led to a Darien Lewis layup and assist to Burney. It sent LSUS to a timeout as Georgetown was on a 10-1 run for a 78-64 lead with under 4 minutes to go. The run proved the knockout for the Pilots as Georgetown kept the pressure on, including 2 more dunks from Burney to close out the 14-point win.

The story of the night was the 2nd half from Andres Burney. In 15 minutes, Burney went 10-10 from the field and 4-4 from the foul line. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. He was one of 5 Tiger in double figures on a night where Georgetown shot 60% from the floor. Darien Lewis scored 13 of his 15 in the first half. Jabrion Spikes tallied 12 to go with 7 boards. Jaquias Franklin scored 11 with 7 assists. Tae Dozier came off the bench to add 10 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Georgetown moves to the 2nd Round to take on Saint Francis (IN) for the 2nd time this season. Saint Francis upset 7-seed Lewis-Clark State in the 2nd game at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on Friday night. The teams already met earlier this season in Kingsport, TN, with Georgetown winning, 95-72.

The rematch will take place on Saturday at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym with a 5:00pm tip. The winner will advance to the Round of 16 and make the trek to Kansas City next week. The game will be streamed live on the Georgetown Tigers Athletics YouTube channel.