Ohio State’s alumni team Carmen’s Crew used a dominant performance on both ends of the floor to inch another step closer to a championship Monday night in Louisville, Ky., advancing to the semifinals of The Basketball Tournament with a 90-74 victory over No. 7 seed Takeover BC Monday night at Freedom Hall.
Carmen’s Crew earns its first TBT semifinal appearance since 2019 — a year in which it secured its only championship — by putting together its most complete performance of the tournament. The Scarlet and Gray connected on 16 of its 38 three-point attempts, including 11 in the first half, while it also held Takeover BC to a tournament-low 74 points on 22-of-57 shooting, good for just 38.6 percent.
They also had each of its 11 active players — former Buckeye Kyle Young was the lone player not to play — score at least one point and forced their opponent to 11 turnovers, all a strong combination that allowed the alumni team to hold a lead that ballooned to as high as 40 points near the end of the third quarter but then shrunk to as low as 14 in the final Elam Ending period before ultimately closing the game off a Desonta Bradford jump shot 4:47 seconds into the extra quarter.
Carmen’s Crew was ready to play from the onset, connecting on four early triples and a series of two-point baskets to take a resounding 26-7 lead with 1:35 left in the first quarter. After a three-pointer by Takeover BC guard AJ English, Carmen’s Crew responded with its fifth three of the quarter by way of guard Jamel Morris with seven seconds left, allowing it to take a 29-10 lead into the period.
Seventh-seeded Takeover BC would start the second quarter strong, starting the period on a 10-5 run to trail 34-20 after a Bison Gresham free throw with 4:53 left in the half. But that was the closest the underdog squad would get the rest of the half.
Carmen’s Crew responded with a three-pointer from guard Scott Thomas on the other end, igniting a game-changing 18-7 run for the No. 2 seed that included three more triples –capped by back-to-back threes from Claudio Penha and Erick Neal — to give them a resounding 27-point lead, 52-27, heading into halftime.
Carmen’s Crew only picked up where it left off as the half began, getting one triple from Erick Neal followed by an impressive eight straight points from forward Andre Wesson to start the period on an 11-0 run and go up by 38 points, 63-25, with 6:17 remaining. After Takeover BC responded with a three of their own from Desi Washington, the Buckeye alumni team took off again, this time getting a three from Jamel Morris and a layup from Neal to take an astounding 40-point lead, 68-28, with 4:43 left in the third.
Takeover BC was able to slightly trim the lead as the quarter progressed, eventually trailing by 31, 68-37, after a brief 9-0 run. But the Scarlet and Gray responded with a three-pointer from Thomas with 24 seconds left in the quarter to put them up 75-40 as the fourth period began.
Takeover BC opened the final period with some more fight, scoring nine of the quarter’s first 11 points to trail by 28, 77-49, and then, after a Jared Sullinger layup — only his second basket of the night — going on a 9-3 run to trail 82-58 heading into the Elam Ending.
With the target score set at 90 to start the untimed period, Takeover BC continued to battle, this time going an extended 13-4 run that included a 1-for-7 stretch from Carmen’s Crew to trail just 88-74. Carmen’s Crew would respond, though, getting a two-point turnaround jumper from Desonta Bradford that ended the game and propelled the alumni team to the TBT semifinals.
Carmen’s Crew was led in the win by Andre Wesson, 43-year-old Erick Neal and Bradford, who netted 16, 12 and 10 points, respectively on a combined 14-of-24 shooting. Woods added nine points and four assists on 4-of-10 shooting, while Tevin Glass scored eight. Sullinger scored seven on 2-of-7 shooting but had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Carmen’s Crew will continue its quest for the $1 million winner-take-all prize in the semifinal round held on Friday at Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, where it will take on the winner of Louisville’s alumni team The Ville and Kentucky’s alumni squad La Familia. The game will tip off around 9 p.m. and air live on Fox Sports 1.
