No. 6 seed Georgetown High are now only one win away from defying the odds and winning the state title.
This time they played spoiler by defeating No. 2 seed Bourne, 69-66, at Emmanuel College to advance to the MIAA Division 4 state championship game. Despite giving up a considerable size advantage in the paint, the Royals were tenacious on defense, frustrating a remarkably talented Bourne team that featured standout seniors Michael Dankert (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Nathan Reynolds (22 points, five rebounds, two blocks).
“We take so much pride in our defense,” said Georgetown coach Josh Keilty. “It’s really a credit to our players and the commitment on their end. They understand that if we are going to do anything special, that’s who we need to be. This team knows who they are – and if we couldn’t be better, we knew we needed to be different to beat a team as good as Bourne.”
A balanced scoring attack powered the Georgetown (18-6) offense, with Irvin Zapata (14 points, three three pointers) and Jomar Terrero (14 points, five-of-six from the free throw line) continually finding a way to get to the hoop. That helped Georgetown jump out to an early lead, 19-16, after one, then seize a five-point advantage at the half.
A six-point run to close the third put Georgetown ahead, 55-48, entering the final frame, but Bourne (20-4) had stretches where they were nearly impossible to stop in the paint. The Canalmen forged ahead, 62-61, with just over two minutes to play in the game, but that proved to be the final lead of their season.
“It’s a tough way to end,” said Bourne coach Scott Ashworth. “My seniors have been with me for a long time. They’ve been our cornerstone, and I hope the younger kids learn from that. This was a rock fight from start to finish. You’ve got to credit Georgetown. They play hard, and they defend.”
Georgetown scored their last nine points off free throws, and a defensive stop by Marcos Yones with 13 seconds remaining allowed the Royals to increase their lead to four points.
“Everyone wants to talk about offense,” said Yones, a senior forward. “But when you have a team that can play defense and get stops, you can go all the way. This is big win for us, and now we need to stay locked in and stay together as a team for the next game.”
Just before time expired, Dankert sent up a prayer from beyond half court that would have sent the game to overtime, but it veered off to the left. That secured the victory for Georgetown, providing a chance to celebrate for junior guard Brendan Loewen, who worked all game to constantly disrupt Bourne’s offensive rhythm.
“This team means everything to me, so I wanted to do whatever I could to impact the game,” said Loewen (10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block). “If that meant rebounding against their 6-6 guys, then so be it. That’s who we are. Midway through the season, we still didn’t have an identity. We decided that no other team was going to work harder than us on defense. That’s made all the difference. And it’s right back to work–we’re not done yet.”
Amidst the post-game Georgetown jubilation, Keilty stayed grounded. He knows that there is still another game to play and more stops for his players to make on the defensive end.
“The fact that we’re one game away from the state title, that hasn’t sunk in,” said Keilty. “But that’s not our focus. Our focus is doing what we always do, and that’s prepare and then go out to do our best.”