KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Carroll College scored the game’s first points, but that was the only time the Fighting Saints would hold the lead. Top-seeded Georgetown (Ky.) defeated Carroll 68-48 on Tuesday night in the NAIA Division I men’s basketball national championship inside Municipal Auditorium. It’s Georgetown’s third title in program history, with the other two coming in 1998 and 2013.
Georgetown answered Carroll’s opening basket with a 24-4 run to take control of the game and lead 26-9 by the under-8-minute media timeout. The Tigers led by 20, 35-15, at halftime, as the Saints shot just 6 of 32 and made 1 of 14 from downtown.
Carroll made a small run at Georgetown early in the second half to cut the deficit to 16, 45-29, but Georgetown answered every time Carroll could manage a bucket. The lead consistently hung around 20 throughout the second half as the Tigers cruised to victory. Troy Steward’s tomahawk jam with under two minutes to play served as the perfect exclamation point to Georgetown’s championship performance.
Georgetown locked down on defense, holding the Saints to 19-of-62 shooting (30.7 percent) and making just 5 of 27 from 3-point range. The Tigers also out-rebounded Carroll 45-29.
Chris Coffey had another double-double, his fourth consecutive, to lead Georgetown, scoring 10 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Coffey’s athleticism was also on display, as he threw down a pair of thunderous baseline dunks.
Eljay Cowherd finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Cowherd averaged 17 points and nine assists in the tournament.
Match Burnham led Carroll with 17 points and seven rebounds but shot just 5 of 15 from the floor. Dane Warp added 11 and Matt Wyman finished with 10 for the Saints.
Reporting by Alec Bofinger for Montana Sports
