GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- Lindsey Wilson College men's basketball led wire-to-wire in a 76-72 win over Georgetown College tonight at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.
Lindsey Wilson's Chase Cox hit a 3-pointer 19 seconds into the game and the No. 11-ranked Blue Raiders (8-1, 3-1 in the Mid-South Conference) kept the home-standing and third-ranked Tigers in their rear-view mirror in the win.
Despite never trailing, it took all the Blue Raiders had to keep Georgetown at bay.
Lindsey Wilson used a 9-2 run near the midway point of the first half to build a 21-12 lead.
Cox was at it again as he closed the run with another 3-pointer. Cox ended with 13 points and a season-high four 3-pointers.
The Blue Raiders extended the lead to as many as 11 points (31-20) with just over four minutes left in the half before the Tigers (7-2, 1-2 MSC) roared back.
Georgetown closed within four points with five seconds left in the half as Monty Williams scored from point blank range to seemingly send the Tigers into the half with the momentum. Williams finished with 17 points.
However, Lindsey Wilson's Kalen Kimberland had other ideas.
Kimberland drove the length of the court and hit a double-clutched 3-pointer from the right wing as time expired to give the Blue Raiders a 41-34 halftime lead. Kimberland finished with a team-high 17 points.
The shot capped a nearly perfect offensive half for the Blue Raiders who shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) in the first 20 minutes.
Georgetown came out of the locker room determined scoring four straight points to cut the Blue Raider lead to three (41-38).
Lindsey Wilson's DeAntra Scott -- who was one of four Blue Raiders in double figures -- pushed the lead back to five points two minutes into the second stanza. Scott ended with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Wilson countered with a 3-pointer to cut the Lindsey Wilson lead to two (43-41) -- the closest it would be since 5-4 early in the game.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Darren Ballou and Cox quickly gave the Blue Raiders breathing room.
Lindsey Wilson extended the lead back to as many as nine points on two different occasions -- the latter a 68-59 lead with 3:30 left on Alex Giergen's 3-pointer. As a team, Lindsey Wilson hit eight 3-pointers compared to just three for the Tigers.
Georgetown managed to close within four points (68-64) with 1:25 left in the game.
The Blue Raiders, however, made 6-for-8 at the free throw line -- along with Wesley Hanspard's uncontested fast-break dunk -- in the final 85 seconds to secure their third straight win over the Tigers.
Lindsey Wilson shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, including 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from beyond the 3-point arc. Georgetown -- who entered the game shooting 51.3 percent as a team -- made 45.2 percent (28-of-62), including just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) of its threes.
Georgetown dominated the Blue Raiders on the glass, out-rebounding Lindsey Wilson 42-28. It is the first time this season that the Blue Raiders have been out-rebounded.
Hanspard joined Kimberland, Cox and Scott in double figures with 16 points.
Vic Moses -- the reigning MSC Player of the Week -- joined Wilson with 17 points while Mychal Parker contributed 12 points. Russ Middleton and Deondre McWhoter each finished with 10.
Lindsey Wilson returns to action at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 1 as the Blue Raiders travel to St. Catharine (Ky.) College.
