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Boeheim’s Army entered the third round of The Basketball Tournament riding high. They were coming off an 83-75 win over The Nerd Team, avenging their second-round loss from last season. Grant Riller’s 27 points helped offset TNT’s late-game run, which set BA up for a regional final matchup against Blue Collar U — TBT’s defending champions.

Early on, it was all BCU. They outscored Boeheim’s Army 21-9 in the first quarter and forced 10 turnovers. But Boeheim’s Army clawed their way back in, led by 14 first-half points from Riller, to hold a 31-30 lead at the break. A dominant fourth-quarter and Riller’s game-high 29 points led Boeheim’s Army to a convincing 69-54 win over BCU.

Here are some observations from BA’s regional final win over Blue Collar U:

Sloppy Start

Boeheim’s Army had trouble settling into the game. In the opening quarter, BA had more turnovers (10) than shots (nine). BCU invaded passing lanes early and often, while Boeheim’s Army looked out of sorts offensively.

BCU’s Nick Perkins had just knocked down two free throws to give his team a 16-7 lead with less than two minutes left in the first. In need of some urgency offensively, Dwight Buycks Jr. got called for a travel. Blue Collar U gained possession, nailing a 3 on the ensuing end as part of an 8-2 run to end the first quarter.

With Boeheim’s Army down by 12, Andrew White III took the ball up. But even he couldn’t get the offense started. White fired a pass directly to Davonta Jordan for BA’s ninth turnover of the contest. Jordan passed to a sprinting Antwon Lillard, who threw down a dunk to give BCU a 21-7 advantage.

Christmas struggles on Perkins

Twenty six seconds into the game, Boeheim’s Army’s Jamil Wilson left the game after he was cut on his eye. That meant Rakeem Christmas had to fill in, pitting him as Perkins’ primary defender.

Christmas initially struggled with the assignment, allowing Perkins to hit an easy turnaround jumper for BCU’s first basket. Midway through the first, Christmas failed to close out on a wide-open Perkins on the right wing, who nailed the game’s first 3-pointer.

Perkins finished the first quarter 3-of-4 from the field with nine points, tying BA’s opening quarter score by himself. Wilson returned to the game in the second quarter and helped contain Perkins. The BCU big man only scored four points in the second.

With under four minutes left in the first half, Perkins and Christmas battled for a rebound off a BCU miss. Christmas grabbed a hold of Perkins, warranting a loose ball foul, Christmas’ third of the game. He was subbed out for Jimmy Boeheim after the play.

Early in the third, Dontay Caruthers muscled by Riller and Justin Robinson to get into the paint. Chris McCullough and Wilson stepped up to face Caruthers, but they left Perkins unmarked behind them. Caruthers fed Perkins, who was fouled by Wilson and knocked down the ensuing free throws.

The battle inside

In their first-round victory against Team Gibson, Boeheim’s Army scored 60 points in the paint, outscoring their opponent by 24. BA sustained their strong paint presence in round two, winning the battle inside 36-20. But BCU presented a different challenge, with a versatile center in Perkins and other size on the roster.

BA held strong in the paint against their toughest competition to this point, outscoring Blue Collar U 36-26 inside. But Boeheim’s Army struggled to get going in the paint with the mismatches down low.

Early in the first quarter, DeAndre Kane drove inside and stopped at the baseline. He turned around and fed Christmas inside, who was met with a swarm of BCU defenders. Christmas couldn’t get the shot up, losing control of the ball.

Boeheim’s Army’s interior defense stepped up when necessary, staying persistent throughout each possession. Midway through the third quarter, Jordan tried to maneuver past Christmas in the paint.

Christmas stayed with the guard, blocking his layup. Jordan got his own rebound and Christmas continued to remain ahead of him, deterring the following jump shot.

C.J. Massinburg hauled in the offensive rebound and re-set the offense. Massinburg drove inside and was met by the BA defense crashing in on him, leading to Massinburg miss a layup. Riller got the rebound and Boeheim scored a floater in transition to give Boeheim’s Army a 42-36 lead.

With under two minutes left in the third, Wilson inbounded the ball to Christmas, who worked on Xavier Ford in the post. Christmas faked to his left and spun right, creating an open layup. Christmas drew a foul from Ford — who needed to cover a lot of ground to get back with his man — and knocked down both free throws.

As the game approached the Elam Ending, Boeheim’s Army looked to increase their eight-point lead. Robinson cut to the paint and missed a lay-up, but McCullough pulled in the offensive rebound and converted the put-back. BA took a 57-47 lead.

Riller takes command

After a quiet first quarter, Riller took matters into his own hands in the second. Down 26-14 with 5:51 left, Riller catalyzed an 8-0 run to bring BA within four points and force a BCU timeout.

He scored six points in that span, blowing by the Blue Collar U defense twice for easy layups. Boeheim’s Army appeared uneasy on offense for the entire game, until Riller’s aggressiveness allowed them to take advantage of BCU’s offensive struggles.

Right after the timeout, McCullough snagged a rebound off a Perkins miss, quickly sparking BA’s transition offense. Boeheim dribbled to the perimeter and handed the ball off to Riller, who cut left and drew Perkins onto him.

Riller pump-faked, cut inside and stepped back behind the 3-point line, giving himself plenty of space to nail the deep heave. Riller got BA to within one point. A layup from Deandre Kane on the next possession gave Boeheim’s Army their first lead since 3-2.

As the clock just passed the 4:00 mark, Riller calmly dribbled near the Boeheim’s Army bench. It seemed as if head coach Ryan Blackwell would call for a timeout, but Riller blew by Caruthers, diving to the rim for a wide-open layup.

BA grabbed a rebound on the other end and called timeout, which set up the Elam Ending for a target score of 67. Riller buried a deep 3-pointer to reach the mark.

Published on July 28, 2023 at 11:17 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews