A swished three-pointer off the hand of Jamel Morris pushed Carmen's Crew into the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament and sent the defending champions packing.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3 CARMEN'S CREW | 18 | 21 | 17 | 18 | 74 |
| #1 HEARTFIRE | 13 | 15 | 23 | 19 | 70 |
Ohio State’s alumni squad knocked off the defending tournament winners, Heartfire, in a 74-70 win in the TBT’s Dayton Regional final on Wednesday.
Kaleb Wesson led the way with 18 points. Jared Sullinger followed with 12 while Desonta Bradford and Morris hit double-figures with 11 and 10, respectively. Eric Washington and Marcus Hall led the way in Heartfire's losing effort with 18 and 14 points.
It wasn't until less than five minutes remained in the contest that Heartfire took its first lead over Carmen's Crew at 64-63.
Keyshawn Woods hit a layup as the clock ticked under four minutes to play in the fourth quarter, giving Carmen's Crew the lead back at 65-64 and setting the Elam Ending target score at 73. The first team to reach it would move on to the TBT quarterfinals, the other sent home empty-handed.
Wesson nailed a triple to start the Elam Ending period, then drew a foul on a turnaround jumper and knocked down both free throws to put Ohio State's alumni squad three points away from victory at 70-66. A goaltending call and a floater from Hall tied the contest at 70, but a free throw from Wesson and Morris' triple sealed the deal for Carmen's Crew.
JAMEL MORRIS HAS ICE IN HIS VEINS!!!
— TBT (@thetournament) July 25, 2024
GAME OVER!! UPSET COMPLETE!!@CarmensCrew HAS TAKEN DOWN THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS!! pic.twitter.com/20oPr3RZeZ
Carmen's Crew opened the contest on an 8-0 run catalyzed by six points from Kaleb Wesson, one on a 3-pointer from behind the arc and another three points the old-fashioned way. That allowed Carmen's Crew to race out to a 12-2 lead and hold an 18-13 advantage after the first quarter.
The Buckeye alums extended their edge in the second quarter and took a 39-28 lead into halftime, but Heartfire chipped away with a 23-17 edge in the third period to make it a five-point game before taking the lead midway through the fourth quarter. In the end, however, Carmen’s Crew came out on top to keep its TBT run alive.
Carmen's Crew advances to play Takeover BC in TBT's quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Monday in Louisville. The game will be televised on FS1.
