LEBANON, Tenn – E.J. Perry’s potential game-tying deep three-point shot was on-line but short, giving Georgetown College an 88-85 win over Cumberland Saturday afternoon at the Dallas Floyd Recreation Center.

In a game whistled for 42 fouls and 65 free throws between both teams, the outcome came down to the final moments.

With 42 seconds left in the game, Lester Gude put back a Charles Stewart miss to give CU (6-7, 2-4) a one-point advantage. GC’s Corey Washburn answered on the other end with a layup to put the Tigers in control, 86-85. Stewart again took it to the rack but the ball would barely roll out while Washburn grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Washburn hit the front end of the double bonus to give his team a two-point lead with 23 to go. Gude got a good look at a three-pointer from the corner, but the shot was off, and the Tigers’ Monty Wilson snared the board. Wilson was then fouled with two-and-a-half ticks left on the clock, leading to two shots at the line. Wilson hit the first and missed the second, setting up Perry’s final shot.

Four Bulldogs were in double figures, led again by Gude and Creshaun Holt each with 20, and Brian Blackmon and Jerret Towns scored 18 apiece. Gude was five of nine from behind the arc and Holt collected eight rebounds.

After the tip, the Tigers raced out to a 7-0 lead before Gude hit his first shot from downtown. With CU trailing 13-8, Holt made a bucket, drew the foul and nailed his free throw to pull Cumberland within two. Consecutive three-pointers by Georgetown put the visitors up by eight before Blackmon’s second three of the night cut the lead to five.

For the second game in a row, Jerret Towns provided enormous energy off of the bench. After grabbing an offensive board, Towns scored in the paint while being fouled and converted the extra point. Towns then turned it up on the defensive end with a steal and a breakaway layup, lessening GC’s lead to two. Seconds later, Towns pulled up and drilled a three to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game, 22-21.

Towns hit his second three of the game with under eight minutes to play, erasing a three-point deficit for CU. Three baskets were then exchanged between the teams until another three-pointer from Gude gave CU back the lead. With a minute-and-a-half left before halftime, Blackmon drove and made a tough bucket in traffic while being fouled to put the Bulldogs up by three. GC’s Vic Moses dominated the last minute of the half, making two buckets to send the Tigers into the locker room with a 42-41 lead.

Holt opened the second half with a monster dunk to push CU ahead by a point and added onto the lead with a tip-in off of a Blackmon miss to extend the lead to three. The Tigers were only able to manage two field goals in a six minute stretch while Towns was busy taking over again. Towns stole the ball on successive possessions, leading to a fastbreak layup and then two free throws, giving Cumberland its largest lead of the game, 56-45.

The Bulldogs were able to retain their lead until just under 12 minutes left in the contest. The Tigers erased a 10 point deficit to tie the game on two free throws by Moses with seven minutes to go.

With the game knotted at 78 and four minutes left on the clock, Holt slammed another one down for a two-point CU lead. Blackmon knocked in another tough shot to give CU a one-point lead with 1:36 left to play. A Cumberland foul led to two made free throws by CU to relinquish the lead, leading to the final decisive plays of the game.

Moses tallied a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds for Georgetown (11-4, 2-4).

Cumberland hosts non-conference opponent Bethel University on Monday at 6 p.m.