Tigers fall in OT thriller, suffer 1st loss

The game had all the makings of a heavyweight title bout. #1 Georgetown and #2 Freed-Hardeman delivered the goods and then some in front of a packed Davis-Reid Alumni Gym. Ultimately, 40 minutes was not enough, but the Tigers would have liked 5 more. Freed-Hardeman scored with 5 seconds left in overtime for a 70-68 win, handing Georgetown its first loss of the season.

Intensity,physicality, and defense were the themes of this day in Georgetown. It took 2 minutes, 37 seconds before Jabrion Spikes got either team on the scoreboard. Spikes got another at the 16:03 mark for a 4-2 lead. Georgetown then went nearly 4 minutes without a point and just under 5 minutes without a made basket. In that time, the Lions went on a 10-0 run for a 12-4 lead. Tae Dozier finally snapped the field goal drought at 11:36 with a score inside. After a Lion miss, Dozier then nailed a 3 to get the margin down to 2. He then blocked a Lion layup attempt. Jaquias Franklin grabbed the board and raced the other way, slipping through 2 defenders for a score to tie the game at 12 with 10:44 to play.

Freed-Hardeman called a timeout and as good teams do, they answered. The Lions rolled off 9 straight points as Georgetown went into another scoring drought. Jaquias Franklin ended it at the 7:28 mark but the Lions answered a minute later with a 3 to take a 24-14 lead. With just over 4 minutes to play, Georgetown found itself down 26-16 and got going. A jumper from Jabrion Spikes and another 3 from Tae Dozier cut the deficit in half. After a Lion bucket, Franklin connected from midrange and after a FHU turnover, Dozier drilled another 3-pointer. Darien Lewis followed with a score inside as Georgetown ended the half on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 28 at the break.

Georgetown found offense hard to come by to start the 2nd half as Freed-Hardeman started it on a 12-4 run in the first 5:15 to take a 40-32 lead. Dre Boyd free throws stemmed the tide and after an exchange of stops, Tae Dozier nailed a 3 off a long pass from Gavin Stevens to cut the Lion lead to 40-37 with 13 minutes to go. At the midway mark, Jaquias Franklin connected from deep to bring Georgetown level at 42. Gavin Stevens then began a big stretch of minutes as he hit a long 3 for the lead. After a Freed offensive foul, Jaquias Franklin scored inside to cap an 8-0 run for a 47-42 Georgetown lead with 7:30 to go. A three-pointer from FHU cut the lead back to 1 at 47-46 with just under 7 to go. Gavin Stevens nailed another 3 to push the lead back to 4. The Lions did the same on the ensuing possession as the counterpunches kept being thrown on both sides. With 4:53 left, Stevens took his game inside with a score for a 3-point lead.

Freed-Hardeman retook the lead with 4 free throws as the Tiger offense slowed again. Tae Dozier found a ball off the rim for a tip-in and a 54-53 lead with 3:24 to play. The Lions again hit 4 straight from the charity stripe to take a 57-54 lead with 2 minutes remaining. Jaquias Franklin hit 2 free throws and after a Lion jumper, Gavin Stevens again came up huge with another 3 to tie the game at 59 with just over a minute to play in regulation. Georgetown got a defensive stop and was looking for the lead with less than 30 seconds to play, but a turnover with 11 seconds to go gave Freed-Hardeman a shot at the win. The Lions worked the shot clock down and a short jumper in the paint was swatted away by Tae Dozier with less than a second to play. The Tigers had a final halfcourt heave but it was off, and perhaps rightly so, this game needed overtime.

As was the case in both halves of regulation, Freed got out to a quick start. An opening 3 followed by a foul line jumper gave the Lions a 64-59 lead. Dre Boyd got the Tigers on the board in OT with 2:53 to go. After 2 Lion free throws, Tae Dozier hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 2 at 66-64. Dozier came up with another huge block on the next possession. Georgetown eventually cleared the glass and Dre Boyd scored inside to tie the game at 66 with 1:08 to go. The Lions countered just 16 seconds later with a score for the lead again. Georgetown worked the shot clock and went for a lob to Dozier for the tie. A FHU defender came under Dozier, sending him crashing hard to the floor and out of the game. Dre Boyd was chosen by FHU to shoot the free throws. Boyd calmly knocked down both for the tie with 22 seconds to play in OT. After a Lion timeout with 12 seconds to go, they cleared out the floor and got a driving layup with 5 seconds to play. Out of timeouts, Georgetown raced to the other end but a last second runner from Jabrion Spikes missed to the left, ending Georgetown's perfect season.

Georgetown's struggles on the offensive end proved the difference in the game. The Tigers grabbed 11 offensive rebounds but only had 8 2nd chance points. They also committed 20 turnovers, leading directly to 21 FHU points. Tae Dozier played 41 minutes, scoring 21 points on 5-8 3-point shooting. He also added 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists and a steal. Dre Boyd played a game-high 43 minutes, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds. In what may have been his best game as a Tiger, Gavin Stevens had 11 points on 3-5 3-point shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. Jaquias Franklin played 38 minutes, scoring 14 to go with 6 assists and 4 boards.

The Tigers will look to bounce back next Thursday as they travel to Cumberlands, who just beat Freed-Hardeman this past Thursday. Tip time is set for 7:30pm.