No. 18 Tigers Rally Stopped by No. 2 Lions

GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The No. 18 Georgetown College men's basketball team (16-5, 2-3 MSC) battled tough, but ended up falling, 84-63 to No. 2 Freed-Hardeman University (21-1, 6-0 MSC) in Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on Thursday night. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening two minutes were not kind to Georgetown who faced a 7-2 deficit. From there, however, the shots from distance began to fall as Isaiah Mason and Darien Lewis connected from range to boost the Tigers ahead, 8-7. Lewis also hit a layup to help the Tigers to a 10-9 advantage at the opening media timeout. Over the next five minutes, the Lions found a rhythm from the floor, and took an 18-15 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. The Tigers continued to play through the three-point shot and were tied at 22-22 when the Lions called a timeout at the 4:58 mark. Isaiah Mason scored six of the final 10 points for Georgetown in the half. He registered 11 to lead all scorers in the half as Georgetown faced a 37-32 halftime hole.

The second half opened similarly to the first as Georgetown sunk into a 46-34 deficit at the 17:19 mark before coach Chris Briggs called timeout. Despite not making it all the way back in the second half, the Tigers did not relent. Over the next nine minutes physicality marked the game as Georgetown clawed within two possessions. Bubba Leavell's layup with 8:27 to play made it a 59-53 game, the closet the Tigers would get. FHU called timeout and responded with a 9-0 run to settle things, holding on for the 84-63 win.

THE TEAM 
Georgetown shot 33.3% from the field. The Tigers were 5-24 (20.8%) from deep and shot 18-28 (64.3%) at the free-throw line. FHU won the rebounding battle 43-39, while the Tigers held the assists advantage, 11-9. FHU created one more steal, 8-7.

THE PLAYERS
* Isaiah Mason led the way with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting with 12 rebounds.
* Bubba Leavell added 16 points and had two assists.
* Darien Lewis finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists.

UP NEXT
The Tigers host Bethel University (16-6, 2-4 MSC) on Saturday, January 31.

Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. against the Wildcats in Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.