Carmen's Crew is one step closer to a million bucks.
The Ohio State alumni basketball team punched its ticket to the third round The Basketball Tournament Friday with an impressive 82-56 rout of eighth-seeded India Rising in Dayton. It was the second win in three days for fourth-seeded Carmen's Crew, which opened its tournament run with a victory over Team Overtime on Wednesday.
Carmen's Crew dominated in the paint, on the glass and in transition, outscoring its opponent 42-4 in bench points and holding India Rising under 30% from the field for the game. Scott Thomas, Javon Bess and Malik Dime all tied for the team lead with 11 points, and Kyle Young, Keyshawn Woods and Kaleb Wesson all added 10 points apiece to the winning effort. Jalen Tate, the brother of former Buckeye star Jae'Sean Tate (who was in attendance in Dayton), hit the game-winning layup for Carmen's Crew in the Elam Ending portion of the contest.
Both teams were deadlocked at 23-all after the first quarter of action, but Carmen's Crew raced ahead with a stellar second frame. Trevor Thompson scored the first four points of the period by himself before Bess and Woods caught fire, combining to pour in 13 of Carmen's Crew's 20 points in the quarter.
"Keyshawn Woods has improved so much since he was at Ohio State"
— Carens Crew (@CarmensCrew) July 29, 2023
AMAZING to see Keyshawn Woods THRIVING in @OhioStateHoops RED pic.twitter.com/qNeKMG9iWi
Woods and Bess spearheaded a 15-2 run for Carmen's Crew, which took a 42-29 lead with 1:26 to play before the half. India Rising scored four of the final six points of the quarter, but shot just 3-for-17 in the second stanza as Carmen's Crew held onto a double-digit lead at halftime.
Transition ran to PERFECTION after the BIG BLOCK by Andre Wesson@CarmensCrew is on 13-0 run on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/ZqDB1fMLke
— TBT (@thetournament) July 29, 2023
India Rising got into rhythm to start the second half, though, as forward Kiran Shastri scored eight points in the first 3:40 of the quarter to help his team make it a two-possession game. But Carmen's Crew responded with a 13-0 run in a little over three minutes of game time to take a commanding lead once again through the middle of the third quarter. Young capped off the period with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give Carmen's Crew a 19-point advantage.
Kyle Young from downtown at the end of the 3rd Quarter!
— Carens Crew (@CarmensCrew) July 29, 2023
We're up BIG headed into the 4th on @ESPNPlus
Tune in to see the finish, let's keep it going boys! pic.twitter.com/3a7CuWzT2L
By the time the Elam Ending went into effect in the final few minutes of action, Carmen's Crew already had things well in hand with a 25-point, 74-49 edge. The finish was academic from there as the Buckeye alumni team closed out its throttling of India Rising in Dayton with a game-ending bucket from Tate.
Carmen's Crew moves on to face Friday Beers at 7 p.m. Saturday for a chance to make it to the tournament quarterfinals.
