GEORGETOWN, Ky. – After falling in their last three contests by a combined total of ten points, the Tigers sought to change their fate against the #9 Georgetown Tigers. Although they were ahead most of the game, crunch time play doomed the Tigers, 64-52.
Both teams came out the gate struggling offensively scoring five points all-together in the first six minutes of play. Once things started going for Georgetown, Campbellsville's offense still struggled to convert. The Tigers began 0-10 from the field before
Malachi De Sousa saw a lay-up drop through. Fortunately, Campbellsville then made six straight to take the lead and run it up to, 15-11. With seven minutes left in the first half, the Tigers' defense held Georgetown to just 24% shooting. Despite their six turnovers compared to the rival Tigers' one, Campbellsville was riding De Sousa's hot hand and the team's rebound advantage. Six Campbellsville players had scored when the Tigers went up nine. They held that buffer headed to the half, 26-17.
Campbellsville shot a less-than-stellar 39% from the field in the first 20 minutes but held Georgetown to an abysmal 22%. De Sousa had nine points and both
Jace Wallace and
Malik Muhammad had six rebounds to lead their respective categories.
Campbellsville expected highly ranked Georgetown not to rest on their laurels and to come out with a gameplan to better convert their attempts. Right out the gate, the rival Tigers nailed a three, but for the Tigers had a response for every bit they closed the gap. The true throughline in the continued discrepancy was Campbellsville's sustained impact in the paint. Georgetown offered no interior presence that was stopping the Tigers' approach. Halfway through the second half, the opposing Tigers got as close to Campbellsville as they had since 19-17 down two, 38-36. Georgetown retook the lead at the seven-minute remaining mark. The rival Tigers then began to see more successful buckets extending their advantage to twelve with three minutes remaining. Several consecutive Tiger turnovers were leading to ample Georgetown opportunities. Campbellsville never brought the game back closer than a seven-point discrepancy as they fell
The latter ten minutes of the second half dropped Campbellsville's field goal percentage below Georgetown's for the game (36.7% to 38.2%). Additionally, the Tigers couldn't take advantage of their attempts at the charity stripe; they shot 3-13. Two Tigers finished in double-digit scoring: DeSousa (15).and Muhammad (11).
The Tigers will be at the Pikeville for their next contest on December 15
th. That game begins at 7:30 p.m. ET.
