KANSAS CITY, MO (March 14) —— Georgetown (Ky.) advanced to the 2023 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship quarterfinals with a comfortable 74-60 win over No. 2 seed Langston (Okla.) on Tuesday (14) here at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The third-seeded Georgetown shot 44.3% from the field and dominated the game, securing a spot in the next round. [Game Stats and Box Score]
Kyran Jones led the scoring for the Tigers with 19 of his 21 points coming in the second half, while he also grabbed 15 rebounds. Jake Ohmer contributed 17 points, Cam Brooks-Harris ended with 10 points and six rebounds and Tommy Thomas scored 10 points off the bench for Georgetown.
Langston’s top scorer was Tristan Harper with 22 points, and was supported by Toru Dean, who added 14 points and made three of his four 3-pointers. AJ Rainey finished with 11 points and six rebounds in the defeat.
Langston (Okla.) struggled to find their rhythm on offense as they shot just 32.7% from the field –making 18 of their 55 field-goal attempts. They shot 6-23 from three-point range and 18-22 from the free-throw line.
Georgetown dominated the game in the paint, outscoring Langston 38-18 in points in the paint. They also outscored Langston 22-10 in second-chance points and 5-11 in points off turnovers.
The Tigers had a balanced scoring attack, with seven players getting on the scoresheet. They also outscored Langston on the bench, with 17 points compared to Langston’s 7 points, and used a 20-0 run late in the 1st half that dribbled into the 2nd half to take control of the contest.
The win takes Georgetown to 29-5 for the season, while Langston finishes their campaign at 31-3. Georgetown will now progress to the next round of the tournament, where they will hope to continue their strong form and make a run at the title.
The Tigers will battle against either top-seed Grace, which knocked off Freed-Hardeman.
Game Stats
The first half saw Georgetown shoot 36.7% from the field, 22.2% from the three-point line, and 33.3% from the free-throw line. In the second half, their shooting improved significantly to 51.6%, 33.3%, and 73.3%, respectively.
Langston struggled, shooting 28.6% from the field in the first half, and only slightly improving to 37.0% in the second half. The Lions’ three-point shooting also saw a drastic increase from 9.1% in the first half to 41.7% in the second half.
