On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles (a team of mostly Marquette alumni) faced the 22nd seeded Sideline Cancer (a team playing for the GriffiTJ Family Foundation to raise awareness regarding pancreatic cancer) in the finals of The Basketball Tournament, the million dollar winner-take-all tournament. As is custom in TBT, the game delivered no shortage of drama and excitement, coming down to the wire for a thrilling finish in the Elam Ending.
Elgin Cook, a native of Milwaukee, got off to a strong start with 6 of the Eagles’ first 8 points, as they raced out to a quick 8-0 lead in the first 2:28 that forced Sideline Cancer, who was 0-4 up to that point, to call a timeout. The underdog Sideline Cancer team seemed rushed to start the game, while the Golden Eagles looked poised and focused. The Eagles were pressuring lead Sideline Cancer guard Marcus Keene, who had three turnovers in the first four minutes of the game.
Down 10-2, Sideline Cancer began to get it together, tightening up their defense and making plays on the offensive end attacking and putting pressure on the Eagles. At the end of the first quarter, they took the lead 23-22 when Maurice Creek - who hit the game-winner in the semi-final on Sunday - hit two free throws. Dion Wright had 5 points for them in the first quarter.
The pace quickened in the 2nd, and the Eagles took a 35-28 lead with 4 minutes to go, off the back of their strong defense and forward Cook, who scored 15 of their first 30. Sideline Cancer battled back though, to tie the game at 37 off of a Keene transition three with 2:29 remaining in the half.
Dwight Buycks hit a tough layup for his 12th point, but Xavier alum Remy Abell responded with a three to make it 40-39 Sideline Cancer. Derrick Wilson was fouled going for a rebound, and made 1 of 2. With the game at 40-40, Remy Abell hit a driving layup for his 10th point to make it 42-40. Jamil Wilson of the Golden Eagles hit a three off a pick and pop with 35 seconds remaining in the half and the Eagles led 43-42. Keene then winded the clock on the final possession of the half, missing a three. The loose ball off the rebound went out off of the Eagles, however, and Sideline Cancer inbounded with 1.3 remaining. Creek, who scored 11 in the opening half, got creative, knocking the ball off the back of Wilson, retrieving it and hitting a layup to give Sideline Cancer a 44-43 halftime lead. For the half, they shot 61% to the Golden Eagles’ 57%.
Buycks started off the second half with a three to give the Eagles the lead at 46-44. Wilson then connected from the top of the arc to make it 49-44. A quick 6-0 spurt would give Sideline Cancer a 1-point lead as the Eagles’ Buycks picked up his 5th foul with 4:11 remaining in the quarter. Creek then hit a three to give Sideline Cancer a 53-49 lead as the Eagles called a timeout with 3:46 remaining.
The Eagles’ Maurice Acker returned with a three after the timeout, and Darius Johnson-Odom hit a driving layup to give the Eagles the lead at 54-53. A goaltending call on a Creek layup returned the lead to Sideline Cancer, giving Creek 20 points. Johnson-Odom and Sideline Cancer’s Eric Thompson exchanged baskets, and shortly thereafter Jamel Artis hit two free throws to give Sideline Cancer a 59-56 lead. Jarvis Williams of the Eagles then hit two free throws, and Artis returned with a baseline floater. Johnson-Odom hit a smooth step-back jumper to make it a 1-point deficit for the Eagles, 61-60, at the end of 3.
For the opening points of the 4th, Artis hit a turn-around jumper to make it 63-60 Sideline Cancer. Johnson-Odom drove and hit a layup plus the free throw, tying the game. Artis then fired back with a three ball, and Wilson responded with a three of his own to tie the game at 66 with a little over 7 minutes remaining.
Mo Charlo scored a lay-in off of a Johnson-Odom feed, and hit two of three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. Keene drove on Sideline Cancer’s next possession, and kicked to Artis, but he missed the three and the Eagles rebounded the ball with a 70-66 lead and 5 minutes remaining. Charlo then missed a three, however Abell made just one of his two free throws at the other end after being fouled. Buycks missed on a layup, and Abell drilled a three to tie it at 70 with 4 minutes remaining. Buycks missed a three with 3:37 remaining and the target score was set to 78.
Wilson dunked the ball off of a Travis Diener inbound, and Keene responded right back with a three to make it 73-72 Sideline Cancer. It was only Keene’s 6th points of the game. Buycks shot a step-back three that careened off of the backboard, but the ball was deflected out by Sideline Cancer. Off the inbound, Wilson drilled a three from the top to make it 75-73 Eagles. Sideline Cancer then called time.
Artis missed a three from the top, and the Eagles inbounded. Buycks drove, and threw it to Cook, who then passed to Wilson at the top of the arc. Buycks came off a screen underneath and caught in the left corner, slipping it underneath to Cook. As Cook went up, three defenders converged on him, and he found Diener (a college teammate of Dwyane Wade) wide open in the opposite corner. The shot hit bottom and the Golden Eagles won the game 78-73.
The win for the Golden Eagles was sweet satisfaction following last year’s 66-60 Finals’ defeat at the hands of Carmen’s Crew. Johnson-Odom was Player of the Game, with 15 points and 3 assists on 6 of 12 shooting.
Over ten days, TBT provided basketball fans with a refuge, a platform to watch the game they love with the absence of most live sports. It is a great tournament that always delivers on excitement, while also displaying solid quality basketball of players who have either had cups of coffee in the NBA or solid careers overseas. As basketball fans await the NBA’s return, TBT provided exciting basketball to watch.
As a second time viewer this year, it is definitely quality basketball that should be watched.
Comments