Coffey, Reid Tally Career-Highs in Semifinal Win
Submitted on March 26, 2019
Chris Coffey dominated Monday night for Georgetown College, helping the men’s basketball team punch their ticket to a seventh NAIA Division 1 National Championship Game, the third under Head Coach Chris Briggs.
The No. 1 Tigers (32-4) have found different ways to win, all while playing team basketball. Monday, against William Carey University, it was Coffey's turn to get it rolling. He posted a new career-high of 32 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the tournament.
GC had to outlast a William Carey rally in the second half but finished off the Crusaders (25-10) 94-83 for a chance to claim the program's third national championship against Carroll College. Tip-off is set for 9:00 pm EST Tuesday.
Fans have several ways to watch the Championship Game. It will be streamed live on ESPN 3, and currently, Galvin's in Georgetown and Molly Malone's Highlands in Louisville will have the championship game on live. Several Lexington locations are currently being contacted to see if they carry the channel.
Three of Coffey's 13 first-half points came as he forced a steal with the first half winding down. He chased the loose ball, picked it up, composed himself and let a half-court shot go. It banked in and put GC up 18 as he and the rest of the team ran off the court and to the locker room.
"It gave us momentum as I ran off and my teammates followed, that's what we do," Coffey said of the buzzer-beater. "But, being the number one seed out here we know teams are coming after us. We knew the game wasn't over, and they would make a run."
GC kept that momentum to start the second half, twice building a 20 point advantage, but WCU made a huge rally and whittled it down to a three-point game with 11:10 remaining in the contest.
Enter Dominique Reid. Following a GC timeout, with the Tigers up 56-53, the senior scored 14 of his now career-high 22 points, also contributing six rebounds and two assists.
"We had good post work, me and Dom," Coffey said. "If it works, don't break it."
Eljay Cowherd had another solid night with 14 points and six assists. He has a tournament-high 40 assists heading into Tuesday's game. His average of 10 a game makes him the only player averaging in double figures in that category.
Jacob Conway came up with a couple of big threes at key moments and helped to chase around WCU's best shooter, Brandon Cranford. The Pleasure Ridge Park alum came off the bench and hit eight threes for a team-high 26 points. Cranford was important in the run that got the team within three, but a mixture of Cowherd, Conway and Joe Burton corralled him and held him to just two more shots in the final 11 minutes.
Burton followed up his explosive scoring night in the quarterfinal with nine points and six big assists against WCU. Brodricks Jones added five points and five rebounds, while Troy Steward had two points, three assists, and three rebounds.
This is Georgetown College’s seventh trip to the NAIA National Championship Game, where they hold a 2-4 record. Head Coach Chris Briggs is 1-1 in championships, most recently falling to MidAmerica Christian University in 2016 in overtime on a last-second shot.
