GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The No. 8 Martin Methodist Men's Basketball team turned in a valiant road effort, but came up just shy in an 89-86 overtime loss at No. 15 Georgetown (Ky.) College Saturday afternoon.

The loss marked the first of the season for the RedHawks (9-1), who were just one of three remaining unbeaten squads in the NAIA entering the weekend.

After falling behind early in the contest, the RedHawks went on a 20-2 run just before halftime to surge ahead by a 42-29 margin at the break.

In the second half, however, Georgetown would chip away at the lead and even re-take the lead late in the frame. Down 78-76 with just over 30 seconds remaining in the half, the RedHawks responded with a bucket with just six seconds left in regulation to force the extra period.

The overtime session saw the RedHawks race out to a five-point advantage with 2:58 remaining after Darius Woods splashed home a triple to push the lead to 83-78. The Tigers would close the contest on a 11-3 spurt, however, to hand the RedHawks their first defeat of 2014-15.

Darius Forrest led the RedHawks with a 23-point, 13 rebound effort for the first double-double of his RedHawk career. The junior was 11-of-17 from the floor, with several makes coming from just underneath the rim as the forward tracked down nine offensive rebounds.

Fellow forward Ryan Donald added 11 points and eight rebounds, while Monte Burney and Woods paced the backcourt with 17 and 12 points each.

As a team, the RedHawks enjoyed a 53-40 edge on the glass and a 24-10 margin in terms of second chance points, but the sharp-shooting Tigers sank over half of their shots (36-of-71) from the floor.

Noah Cottrill led the Tigers (12-2) with 25 points, including a late triple to help force the overtime period.

The win snapped a nine-game streak for the RedHawks, who were off to their best start since winning their first 16 contests in the 2010-11 campaign.

Martin Methodist returns to action next Wednesday (Dec. 17) when it hosts Cumberland (Tenn.) University in a return matchup of a contest played last month. The RedHawks defeated the Bulldogs by a narrow 66-64 margin in Lebanon, Tennessee on Nov. 24.

Tipoff in Wednesday's contest is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Curry Christian Life Center.