KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Georgetown College captured its third basketball National Championship Tuesday night with a 68-48 win over Carroll College.
Georgetown College used a big inside presence and strong defense at the start to take a 35-15 halftime lead over Carroll College in the NAIA National Championship game.
The Tigers started the game on an 11-4 run thanks Brodricks Jones and Troy Steward going inside for buckets. Then, Steward stepped way out for a long three pointer. Then, Dominique Reid went to work inside. First a tough left handed drive from the right side, then a hook shot from the left side followed by another from the right. The Tigers would take a 20-6 lead. Georgetown wasn’t finished as Chris Coffey had a big slam for a Tigers 22-6 advantage.
But, defense was also key to the first half. Carroll College is the top ranked three point shooting team in NAIA Division I, while also tops in field goal and free throw percentage. The Fighting Saints missed their first nine shots behind the arc and Georgetown turned up the pressure.
Right before the half more fireworks. Steward would drive and find Coffey for a big slam. Then, Eljay Cowherd would find Reid on an alley-oop slam as he was fouled. Georgetown would take the 35-15 lead at the break.
Reid led the way with 12 points, Coffey added 7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
In the second half, Carroll College made a run but Georgetown was just too tough. The Tigers continued to pound it into the paint where they outscored Carroll 46-18 . The Fighting Saints also continued to struggle from the three point line finishing 19% behind the arc.
The Tigers add a third National Championship to go with wins in 1998 and 2013. It’s the second for Head Coach, Chris Briggs, in his eight seasons at Georgetown.
Cowherd led the way for Georgetown with 15 points, Reid had 14.
