One year and three days ago, The Nerd Team took a commanding 15-point lead into halftime against Boeheim’s Army in the TBT’s Round of 32. BA didn’t chip into TNT’s lead until the Elam Ending, cutting it to two possessions. But Tyler Nelson nailed an acrobatic three-pointer, preventing Boeheim’s Army from repeating as champions.

It was a different story Wednesday. The game was tied at 31-31 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Then, Boeheim’s Army scored on four of their five possessions, simultaneously holding The Nerd Team to a point.

Looking to extend BA’s lead before the halftime break, Dwight Buycks inbounded the ball to Grant Riller, and he did the rest. Riller pulled up from the baseline, sinking a mid-range jumper for his 17th point of the half, extending Boeheim’s Army’s lead to 46-32.

“That was a big run, it opened the game up and it gave us confidence,” Riller said. “I think we moved the ball well during that time and we got out in transition. So overall, that’s probably what won us the game.”

In a rematch from last year’s Round of 32 matchup, Boeheim’s Army avenged their 2022 loss, beating The Nerd Team 83-75. Like their Round of 64 matchup against Team Gibson, Boeheim’s Army started slow, but surged at the end of the first half to build a double-digit lead. The Nerd Team tried cutting into Boeheim’s Army lead in the second half, but BA held them off.

TNT got on the board first in transition, setting up a Prentiss Hubb for a step-back 3-pointer. BJ Johnson came right back, driving down the floor for a pull-up mid-range. Quickly, TNT pushed the ball down the court and swung the ball to Kyle Casey, who drained another 3. But again, Johnson responded from beyond the arc.

Riller added six more early, giving Boeheim’s Army a 13-11 lead with 5:29 left in the first quarter. Johnson finished with 10 points in the first quarter.

BA had a few sloppy offensive possessions at the end of the opening quarter and a pair of turnovers, only scoring two points in the last 3:30. BA held strong on defense as TNT only scored four points in the same time period, giving Boeheim’s Army a four-point advantage.

In the second quarter, TNT took advantage of some poor offense from Boeheim’s Army, going on a run to take a 26-24 lead and force BA to call a timeout with 6:02 left in the quarter.

Coming out of the timeout, BA got going. After Riller zipped a pass under the hoop for Jamil Wilson, he converted an easy layup to tie the game. Boeheim’s Army then forced Kevin Marfo to miss a hook shot, with Riller pushing the ball up the court and nailing a pull-up 3-pointer giving BA a three-point lead.

“I just wanted to come here and give us a spark, be aggressive and just play my game,” Riller said.

The Nerd Team answered Riller with a quick 5-0 run, but Riller came right back. He rose up from mid-range, sinking a jumper to tie the game 31-31 with 3:40 before halftime. Coming out of the media timeout, Chris McCullough missed an easy layup, but on the next offensive possession he drained a three.

Justin Robinson pushed the ball up the court, this time finding Buycks in the opposite corner. Buycks missed the shot but Robinson corralled the rebound and put up another attempt.

Robinson’s shot fell short, but Riller snatched the ball above two TNT defenders. Riller scored on the third opportunity of the possession, giving BA a 5-point lead. Boeheim’s Army continued to click, closing the half on a 17-1 run.

The Nerd Team opened the second half how they started, calm and in control. Hubb knocked down a corner 3 to cut BA’s lead to eight, starting the half on a 10-4 run. Riller picked Hubb’s pocket a minute later, flipping his turnover into two points, extending Boeheim’s Army lead back to double digits.

With less than four minutes left in the third quarter, The Nerd Team cut the lead back to seven. Azar Swain knocked home a 3-pointer two minutes later to cut BA’s lead down to six.

After Swain’s 3, BA scored five straight and looked to take a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter. At the end of the shot clock, Casey found Swain open in the corner for another 3, putting TNT within eight at the start of the fourth.

For the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, The Nerd Team and Boeheim’s Army went back and forth, but BA ripped off a 5-0 run after back-to-back baskets from Rakeem Christmas and Jimmy Boeheim – this got BA’s lead back to 14 with 6:26 left.

Following Boeheim’s triple, TNT scored nine in a row to cut Boeheim’s Army’s lead to five. Looking to stop the run, BA got the ball to Riller and he did what he’s done all tournament: score in the paint. After driving to his right side, Riller drove into the lane, got fouled and rattled home a layup and the free throw, giving BA a 75-67 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Brandon Sherrod splashed a 3-pointer, cutting Boeheim’s Army’s lead back to five, starting the Elam Ending. Coming out of the timeout, Robinson settled BA down, driving for an easy layup, with Desi Washington responding on the other end with a fadeaway.

Christmas then finished inside and was fouled, but he missed the free throw. Washington misfired on the other end, but BA couldn’t take advantage after DeAndre Kane missed a contested 3-pointer. Despite his miss on the previous possession, Washington stayed aggressive, nailing another deep heave to make it 79-75.

“When the team shoots that many 3s, you live and die by it,” said Boeheim’s Army head coach Ryan Blackwell. “That’s what they did and we made some plays on the defensive end late when we needed to and offensively we made enough plays.”

Despite a close Elam Ending, BA held on with Riller sealing the game at the line. Boeheim’s Army will face the reigning TBT champion Blue Collar U on Friday with a trip to the Round of 16 on the line.

“We’re going to take it one game at a time,” Christmas said. “They had a good tournament last year and they’re playing really well this year too, so we’re going to have to play together as one and we’ll be fine.”

Published on July 26, 2023 at 10:32 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon