Jamil Wilson’s three clinched The Golden Eagles’ second straight berth in the TBT Final, as the team of Marquette alums defeated Dayton University alums “Red Scare” on Sunday in the first TBT semi-final. Red Scare led 62-61, but The Golden Eagles pulled away, winning by nine after the target score was set to 79. Wilson had 23 points and 7 rebounds in the game, while he made 5 of 10 three point attempts and was player of the game.
In the second semi-final, Overseas Elite - one of the tournament favorites going in with former NBA All-Star Joe Johnson as a new edition this year - battled the 22nd seeded Sideline Cancer.
Sideline Cancer got out to a quick 8-3 lead with 6 points by big man Eric Thompson, and held a three point lead at 13-10 through the first 6 minutes of the game. Overseas Elite regrouped however, and had a 19-15 lead after one quarter, with big man Justin Burrell leading with 5 points.
Elite stretched their lead to 11, at 26-15, with 5 points from big man Raphiael Putney and a three pointer from Pooh Jeter that brought their scoring run to 16-2 and forced Sideline Cancer to call time with 7:36 remaining in the first half.
Johnson checked back in with 5:52 remaining and Elite holding a 28-20 lead. Sideline Cancer guard Marcus Keene, the leading scorer this season in the Taiwan Super League with 25.2 points per game, drew a foul on a strong drive and hit both free throws.
Elite maintained their lead in the first half despite Sideline Cancer hanging tough, as Johnson, who started the game 1 for 5, hit on a 3 to make it 33-22 Elite with 3:30 remaining in the half. Johnson would also score their next bucket on a post catch down low that gave Elite a 35-23 lead. Thompson scored inside to cut the Elite lead to 10 at 37-27, which was the score at the end of one half. Johnson had 9 in the half to lead Elite.
Johnson scored his team’s first two of the third quarter on a jump hook to make it 39-29, but Sideline Cancer cut the lead in half after a Keene jumper with 6:04 remaining in the quarter made it 41-36 Elite. Keene came right back down again and hit a three to make it a two point game. Johnson hit on a baseline jumper on the next possession to give him 13 points. Keene, a scrappy, strong 5 foot 9 point guard, came back and attacked, making two free throws, but on the other end Johnson found Session underneath the hoop for a layup.
The pace became frenetic, with Sideline Cancer continuing to push and make a game of it. After a Jeter three, Remy Abell hit a three to cut Elite’s lead to 47-44 with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter. Session was fouled underneath and made both his free throws to make it 49-44. Keene drilled a step back jumper for his 17th point, but missed the free throw that would’ve made it a three point play and cut the lead to 50-47. Instead, Session hit a jumper from 17 feet that extended Elite’s lead to 6, 52-46, with 1:09 remaining in the third. The quarter would end with Elite leading 54-47, with Session making two free throws after he was fouled on a jumper, and Abell making one of two after he was fouled.
A baseline jumper from Keene off of a strong drive provided the first points of the fourth quarter as Sideline Cancer made it 54-49. With 6:08 remaining, Sideline Cancer’s Maurice Creek hit a three from the left wing off of a Keene assist to cut the Elite lead to 57-54, forcing them to call a timeout.
Elite turned the ball over with 5:11 left, and Creek drilled a three off of a Keene pass to tie the game. Johnson then posted and hit a jump hook to make it 59-57. Off of a high screen and roll, Keene found Thompson underneath for two, tying the game at 59 with 4:11 left as the Elam Ending crept closer. Johnson, doubled on a post up, kicked to Bobby Brown at the top of the arc, who misfired on a three, and Sideline Cancer got the rebound with 3:42 on the clock and called a timeout. The Elam Ending target score was set at 67.
Abell scored the next basket of the game, a driving layup off of a long rebound after Elite had an empty possession end in a Jeter missed three.
Johnson posted on the left block, drawing a double, and kicked to the outside, as another pass led to a Tucker three. Johnson then got a steal off of Elite’s full court pressure, but missed a jump hook in the lane. Despite a Creek turnover on the very next possession, Elite couldn’t capitalize and turned the ball back to Sideline Cancer. Keene drilled a three from the top of the arc to give his team a 64-62 lead and give him 22 points.
Johnson, on the next possession, posted, spun away from the double team, and made a layup plus the foul. Johnson hit the free throw to make it 65-64.
Keene crossed over, but missed a three from the top, and Elite rebounded off of a scramble and called timeout. Johnson, though, lost the ball going up for a layup, and Sideline Cancer rebounded.
Keene, looking for space to shoot a three, couldn’t find an opening, and made an in-the-air pass to Creek, who was on the right wing. Creek caught with his left hand, dribbling left with his back to his defender. Thompson came over and set a screen, and Creek took one more dribble and rose to fire over Elite’s Justin Burrell, nailing the game winning shot to send Sideline Cancer to Tuesday’s Final, knocking out the four-time TBT champion Elite.
Keene was Player of the Game, with 22 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Thompson had 16 and 10 rebounds, Abell had 14, and Creek had 10. For Overseas Elite, Johnson led with 18.
The rousing victory for Sideline Cancer sets them up with a championship game against the 4 seeded Golden Eagles, who are led by Darius Johnson-Odom and Dwight Buycks. Tuesday’s final should be a very spirited contest between two teams that both play very hard. I would say that the Golden Eagles have more talent across the board, but I would not at all underestimate Sideline Cancer, especially after seeing what they did today. As a 22 seed out of 24 overall seeds in the tournament, they have defied the odds in getting to the championship game.
Tuesday’s final should be spectacular.
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