By Wade Linville –
The Georgetown G-Men remained unbeaten in Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference National Division play by topping the home standing Williamsburg Wildcats 60-55 on Dec. 19.
It was a league bout in which the G-Men held a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but would withstand a fourth-quarter Wildcat rally to hold on for a five-point victory.
The Wildcats were quick out the gate, going on a 9-2 run to start the game. But it didn’t take long for the G-Men to find their rhythm.
It was Georgetown’s 6’7” junior Noah Pack with an old fashioned three-point play to cut the Wildcat lead to 9-5. Then it was Pack displaying his shooting skills from long range, draining his first of four three-pointers for the night to leave the G-Men trailing by just one, 9-8.
Williamsburg’s 6’8” senior center Jacob Wells rose for a score in the paint to expand the Wildcat lead to 11-8. Wells scored eight of the Wildcat’s 11 points in the first quarter to help lift Williamsburg end the frame with an 11-10 advantage, but the 6’8” center was held scoreless for the remainder of the bout.
All of the G-Men’s 18 points in the second period of play were the result of impressive shooting from beyond the arc. Four Georgetown players combined for six three-pointers in the second quarter as the G-Men outscored the Wildcats 18-13 to take a 28-24 lead just before halftime break.
Pack started off the three-point shower in the second period to put the G-Men on top 13-11. The Wildcats answered with a three-pointer from Nate Bogan to put the Wildcats ahead 14-13.
Another three-pointer by Pack resulted in another lead change, putting Georgetown on top 16-14. The Wildcats had an answer once again, taking a 17-16 lead over the G-Men with a three-pointer by Trent Kreimer.
Williamsburg’s Drew McKibben scored on a drive to the hoop to expand the Wildcats’ lead to 19-16, but a three-pointer by Georgetown’s JT Householder tied the game at 19 in the second period.
McKibben buried a jump-shot to put the Wildcats on top 21-19, but another three-pointer by Householder gave the G-Men a 22-21 lead.
Bogan came through with a field goal from close range to lift the Wildcats to a 23-22 lead, but it was a three-pointer by Georgetown’s junior guard Emerson Cahall that gave the G-Men a 25-23 lead late in the second quarter.
McKibben buried one-of-two attempts from the foul line to cut the Georgetown lead to just one, but the G-Men ventured to the locker room at halftime with a 28-24 lead after senior Jonathan Strickland rifled in a three-pointer to cap off scoring in the first half.
The G-Men came off halftime break to outscore the Wildcats 18-9 in the third quarter, expanding their lead to 46-33.
After scoring only two points in the entire first half, Georgetown senior Logan Doss racked up 12 points in an impressive second half performance.
On an aggressive drive to the hoop, Doss kicked off scoring in the third quarter to lift the G-Men to a 30-24 lead.
With 6:43 to go in the third quarter, it was Doss rising for a score over Wells while drawing a foul in the process. He wasn’t able to finish off the old fashioned three-point play at the charity stripe, but his score on the drive put the G-Men up 32-26.
Pack continued with his impressive shooting from beyond the arc, burying his fourth three-pointer of the night with 5:32 to go in the third quarter to leave the Wildcats trailing 35-27.
Not only was Pack putting together an outstanding performance on the offensive end, but he would completely shut down Wells on the defensive end. It was Pack blocking a shot by Wells late in the third period. The block eventually led to a Georgetown possession that resulted in Doss rising for another score over Williamsburg’s 6’8” center.
After being fouled on a shot in the final minute of the third quarter, Pack managed to drain both free throw attempts to expand the Georgetown lead to 46-33.
The Wildcats outscored the G-Men 22-14 in the fourth quarter with Bogan leading the charge.
The Wildcats picked up the intensity in the full-court defensive press, and it was a steal and score by Bogan that started Williamsburg’s fourth quarter rally.
With 3:02 to go in the fourth, it was a three-pointer by Williamsburg’s Nick Boland that trimmed the Georgetown lead to 51-41.
After holding the G-Men scoreless in the next trip down the court, it was a three-pointer by Bogan that sliced the Georgetown lead to just seven with 2:32 to play.
Bogan was fouled on a three-point attempt with 34.9 seconds remaining and sank all three attempts from the foul line to leave the Wildcats trailing by just four, 56-52.
Doss was fouled in the bonus with 12.2 seconds left on the clock and buried both attempts from the charity stripe to expand the Georgetown lead to 58-52, but it was Bogan rifling in his third three-pointer of the fourth quarter to downsize the G-Men’s lead to just three, 58-55, with 7.1 seconds left on the clock.
The Wildcats were quick to foul Georgetown’s junior point guard Cameron Brookbank in the final seconds. Brookbank was able to sink both attempts from the foul line to cap off the 60-55 victory.
After knocking off last year’s SBAAC National Division co-champions in Tuesday’s road game, the G-Men are off to an excellent start in their quest to claim this year’s league title after finishing 4-6 in league play last season during Doug Williams’ first year as their head coach.
“We’re excited,” Williams said following Tuesday’s league win. “This is a step forward for a team that won seven games last year. I was excited to come into the season to see what we had, and a win on the road at Williamsburg hasn’t happened for two years.”
Pack recorded a double-double in the win at Williamsburg with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Pack managed to knock down four-of-six attempts from beyond the arc.
Doss finished with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists.
Strickland contributed in the win with nine points, three rebounds and one assist.
Householder ended the night with eight points, while Brookbank finished with seven points, six rebounds, and five assists.
GHS 10 18 18 14 – 60
WHS 11 13 9 22 – 55
Georgetown (60): Pack 5 3-5 17, Doss 5 4-7 14, Strickland 2 3-4 9, Householder 3 0-0 8, Brookbank 0 7-8 7, Cahall 1 0-0 3, Gast 1 0-0 2, Ellis 0 0-2 0. Three-pointers: Pack 4, Strickland 2, Householder 2. Team: 17 17-26 60.
Williamsburg (55): Bogan 6 4-5 20, McKibben 4 1-2 10, Kreimer 3 0-0 9, Boland 1 0-0 3, Reed 2 0-0 5, Wells 4 0-0 8. Three-pointers: Bogan 4, McKibben 1, Reed 1, Hart 1, Kreimer 3. Team: 20 5-7 55.