Carmen's Crew is heading to the TBT semifinals.
The team of former Buckeyes held off a late surge from Eberlein Drive to down last season's tournament runner-up 79-71, punching their ticket to the semifinals of The Basketball Tournament.
Carmen's Crew dominated most of the game, particularly in the second quarter. The team shot 50 percent from the floor and 47 percent from behind the arc in the first half and took a 43-29 score into halftime. They then extended that lead to 23 points midway through the third quarter.
OKAAAY, David Lighty!! @OSULighty23 #TBT2019 pic.twitter.com/3uX9KNSbq0
— TBT (@thetournament) August 2, 2019
But Eberlein Drive battled back, gradually cutting the lead to just 75-71 with the Elam Ending target score set at 79 points, but that's as close as they got.
Aaron Craft hit David Lighty with a beautiful pass for an easy layup to make it 77-71, then Columbus native and Otterbein alum Jeff Gibbs sank two free throws to clinch the 79-71 win.
Aaron Craft, Dropper of Dimes.
— TBT (@thetournament) August 2, 2019
Carmen's Crew 2 points away from the win.#TBT2019 pic.twitter.com/ZRZ4dnaEp6
Carmen's Crew was led in scoring by one of the non-Buckeyes on the squad as former Illinois guard Demetri McCamey, who joined the team this weekend, had a team-high 16 points.
“Demetri was the reason we got off to that big lead,” Carmen’s Crew coach Jared Sullinger said after the game, per a press release. “He made a lot of big shots, timely shots.”
But McCamey certainly wasn't alone as a total of five players from Carmen's Crew reached double figures with William Buford (15), Gibbs (14), Aaron Craft (11) and David Lighty (10) all reaching double digits in the scoring column.
With the win, Carmen's Crew is headed to the TBT semifinals on Sunday at noon. Carmen's Crew will face the winner of Friday's game between four-time defending champion Overseas Elite and Loyalty is Love.
Carmen's Crew becomes just the second team in TBT history to make multiple semifinals, joining Overseas Elite.
