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Georgetown outlasts Triton in classic CAL showdown

Friday, January, 11 By John Shimer
Staff writer

Forget the fact that a 1-8 team traveled to a 5-2 team last evening in one of the hardest gyms in which to play in the entire Cape Ann League.

Instead, take a minute to remember some of the down-to-the-wire affairs between Triton and Georgetown during the last two seasons.

Last night was no exception.

The CAL showdown had everything from a jam-packed, standing-room-only gym, to emotions spilling out on the court between players, to season-best individual performances, to a fans-on-the-edge-of-their-seats finish. The host Royals prevailed in the end, 54-51.

In a matchup of two clashing styles | Georgetown's guard-transition game versus Triton's pound-the-ball-inside game | the Royals looked like they would walk away with an easy win when they outscored the low-post oriented Vikings 18-6.

With Triton point guard Derek Clark was sitting on the bench with two fouls, Georgetown implemented an all-out press which caused 11 turnovers.

"Derek (Clark) is such settling influence on our team, he needs to be smarter when it comes to his defense because we need him in the game," said Triton's coach Tim Connell. "After that second quarter, we only had 10 turnovers the rest of the game."

With Royals forward Tim Holland away on college recruiting trip, guard Brandon Wade out for much of the second half with an ankle injury, and guard Jaymie Spears virtually invisible until late in the fourth quarter (thanks in large part to Will Joy and Collin Smith's defense), the Georgetown bench stepped up to hit some big shots.

"James Page and Mike Messman gave us a huge spark off the bench," said Georgetown coach Mike Rowinski. "We needed that with one starter gone and another out for big stretches of the game."

Joe Katin (16 points) and Jimmy Dure (12 points) tried to put the Vikes on their backs in the second half and erase what was as high as a 13-point lead for the Royals.

Georgetown was doing all it could to stop the inside game, regularly doubling and sometimes triple-teaming Jim Dure. However, the man in the middle for Triton still controlled the offensive boards.

But with the game on the line, Spears (18 points) kicked it into gear, getting to the line on four occasions, and scoring the pressure buckets Triton needed in its final charge.

"Jaymie (Spears) is just a prime time player," Rowinski added. "He gave us what we needed down the stretch." For the Vikings, the loss to Georgetown was just another bitter pill to swallow in what has been a familiar pattern of late.

"Once again I can't complain about my guys effort, they did a great job," Connell said. "But, we are sick of efforts, we want wins."

Julio Colon was the only other player in double figures for points, scoring 14, including 10 in the first quarter.