KANSAS CITY – [Schedule | Bracket] Georgetown (Ky.) finished the season just where the final NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 had them placed… at the top of the mountain. The Tigers completed their journey in 2019 and claimed the national title with a 68-48 win over Carroll (Mont.).

Carroll began the scoring, but the lead was short-lived in the first half. Matt Wyman gave the Fighting Saints a 2-0 lead with a bucket off a turnover just over a minute into the ballgame, but the Tigers came roaring back. Broderick Jones led a 14-2 run for Georgetown and helped to put his team in the driver’s seat just under eight minutes into the contest.

The Tigers kept the foot on the gas throughout the half with a strong inside presence. Georgetown recorded 26 of their 35 first-half points in the paint on the way to a 35-15 advantage heading into the break.

Carroll made an attempt to get its’ offense going from the perimeter, but the Fighting Saints struggled from downtown. On the whole in the first 20 minutes, Carroll went 1-14 from long distance as Match Burnham, Dane Warp and Matt Wyman all went 0-3 from beyond the arc.

As good as the Tigers were under the hoop on offense, they were just as good pulling down rebounds. Georgetown out-rebounded Carroll 45-29 in the contest.

Georgetown continued to apply pressure to Carroll after halftime and the Tigers captured their first NAIA National Championship since 2013, the third in team history.

As a team, the Tigers shot 49.1 percent from the floor and held the Fighting Saints to 18.5 percent from three-point range. Carroll entered the game shooting over 41 percent on the season from that distance.

Burnham led the Fighting Saints with 17 points on the evening. Warp followed with 11 points in just over 35 minutes of court time while Wyman rounded-out the double-digit scorers with 10.

In addition to being named National Championship MVP, Chris Coffey led Georgetown on the glass with 16 boards and completed a double-double with 10 points. Eljay Cowherd finished with 15 points and five assists while Dominique Reid posted 14 points.

Carroll ended its season with 29 victories under first-year head coach Kurt Paulson.

Georgetown improved to 33-4 with the national championship victory.

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM

Dedrian Parmer, Science & Arts (Okla.)

Luke Layhew, Pikeville (Ky.)

Brandon Crawford, William Carey (Miss.)

Callum Lawson, Arizona Christian

Dana Abe, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)

Matt Wyman, Carroll (Mont.)

Match Burnham, Carroll (Mont.)

Troy Steward, Georgetown (Ky.)

Eljay Cowherd, Georgetown (Ky.)

Chris Coffey, Georgetown (Ky.)

Chuck Taylor Award and Tournament MVP

Chris Coffey, Georgetown (Ky.)

Team Sportsmanship Award

William Carey (Miss.)

NAIA Player of the Year

Jeff Garrett, LSU Shreveport (La.)

NAIA Coach of the Year

Chris Briggs, Georgetown (Ky.)

NABC-NAIA Coach of the Year (Must be NABC Member)

Ryan Moody, Benedictine (Kan.)

• Announced March 19 at Student-Athlete Experience Event

Charles S. Stevenson Hustle Award

Javontae McDavid, William Carey (Miss.)