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Jon Elmore calmly brought the ball up the floor. Without much on-ball pressure, Elmore dished the ball off to JP Tokoto who waited on the wing. Tokoto penetrated the lane before being met by Rakeem Christmas in the paint.

The point guard threw an off-target bounce pass which Taevion Kinsey saved along the baseline. Kinsey threw a wraparound pass to the corner for JaCorey Williams in the corner, who made the extra pass to Rob Gray.

With DeAndre Kane putting in a half-hearted closeout, Gray nailed the 3-pointer, putting Herd That up 74-57 early in the fourth quarter. Gray finished with 20 points, boosting Herd That to an 88-71 victory over Boeheim’s Army in The Basketball Tournament’s quarterfinals.

After three solid defensive outings in the Syracuse regional, BA’s lackluster defense came back to bite them against Herd That. In the second half alone, Boeheim’s Army allowed 55 points, more than they allowed in the Syracuse regional final against defending champions Blue Collar U. Boeheim’s Army could not overcome Heard That’s impressive shooting along with their own inability to get stops.

Against BCU, BA switched to a 2-3 zone when they fell down double digits early on. On Sunday throughout the first half, it seemed as if they’d be fine sticking to a man-to-man defense. BA led by six at the half, holding Herd That to 33 points and seeming to be in control.

BA’s downfall started with a simple play. Guarded by Kane, Elmore controlled the ball at the top of the key. Elmore drove left, using a head fake to create separation, allowing him to glide through the lane and finish with his left hand. Elmore’s basket started a 17-0 run for Herd That to start the second half, never looking back.

“Our assistant coach was like, ‘You know there’s no losers bracket, if we lose, we go home.’ He was kind of talking trash to me,” Elmore said. “I ended up picking it up in the second half so he kind of inspired me.”

Elmore started picking apart Boeheim’s Army defense, getting whatever look he wanted. Up 42-40 in the third, Elmore came down the floor after a miss from Kane. He rose up for 3 before the defense was even set and drained the shot. The barrage continued as Elmore somehow found himself wide-open from the top of the key and drained another 3-pointer to extend Herd That’s lead to 10 nearly halfway through the third.

Elmore finished the run with a casual 3-pointer from the logo. With nobody stepping up to stop him, Elmore pulled the trigger, hitting nothing but net.

Elmore finished with 17 points, going 5-of-9 from 3-point range. He also had seven assists, connecting on a couple of lobs throughout the contest. Although Elmore sparked the run, Gray played his part in picking apart BA’s defense. Gray finished with a game-high 20 points and was the closer for Herd That.

“No matter if you’re playing against Michael Jordan you have to be confident yourself or you’re never gonna have a chance,” Gray said. “64 teams, one team gets a million, if you’re not confident in yourself from the jump in what are you doing here?”

Gray’s 3-pointer tied the game up at 40 during Herd That’s run. Gray caught the ball on the wing and pump-faked to get Kane in the air before drilling the shot. Herd That never seemed to be in a rush, getting whatever looks they wanted while Boeheim’s Army seemed out of sorts after the run. BA took bad shots on offense, setting up Herd That’s transition offense. Once they found their stride, Boeheim’s Army was out of gas.

“We play the way we play no matter who we play, we’re going to be getting up-and-down, if we’re not going up-and-down we get layups. You’re not gonna slow it down well with the guys we have,” Elmore said.

With BA down 57-47, Elmore walked the ball up the floor, lofting a pass to Tokoto on the right wing. Jamil Wilson pressured Tokoto, but Kinsey was left wide open in the corner for an easy 3-pointer as Wilson couldn’t recover in time. Herd That finished 10-of-19 from 3-point range while Boeheim’s Army went 7-of-23.

Throughout the second half, Herd That’s offense seemed unstoppable. They outscore BA 34-13 in the third quarter and suddenly BA trailed by 16. After getting blitzed in the third, Boeheim’s Army couldn’t get out of the hole they created. Without stringing together consistent stops, they never gave themselves an opportunity to make a run with the lead staying at double digits.

Published on July 30, 2023 at 8:18 pm

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