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Creek, Abell Come Up Just Short in TBT Championship Game

Former Indiana basketball players Maurice Creek and Remy Abell played great, bu there Sideline Cancer team came up just short in the $1 million TBT championship game, falling 78-73 to Golden Eagles.
Tom Brew|
Creek, Abell Come Up Just Short in TBT Championship Game
Creek, Abell Come Up Just Short in TBT Championship Game

The championship game of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is win-or-go-home battle, because there's $1 million on the line for the winner. The loser gets nothing.

Nothing but memories.

That was the case Tuesday for two former Indiana basketball players, Remy Abell and Maurice Creek, and their Sideline Cancer teammates. They both played great, but their thrilling run through this 10-day tournament ended with a 78-73 loss to Golden Eagles, a team of mostly Marquette alumni.

Creek, who played at Indiana from 2010-13 and then transferred to George Washington for his senior year, led all scorers with 20 points. Abell, who played two years at Indiana with Creek (2011-13) and finished his college career at Xavier, scored 14 points.

What makes TBT so exciting is the Elam Ending, which turns off the clock at the first dead ball with less than four minutes remaining and adds a target score of eight points more than the leading team's current score. From there, both sides play until one reaches that total, largely eliminating late-game fouls and dragging out the clock.

The idea has been well received in this event, and the title game was no different.

ABELL 3-POINTER TIES AT 70

Abell nailed a three-pointer for Sideline Cancer to make it 70-70, and setting up the ending. Sideline Cancer had an early lead, but Golden Eagles ended it quickly with back-to-back three-pointers by Jamil Wilson and Travis Diener. 

MAURICE CREEK ON FIRE

Despite falling short, this Sideline Cancer team was certainly the darlings of this tournament. Creek and Abell, who both have been playing professionally overseas, became national names once again during this event.

They were the No. 22 seed in this 24-team event and had to win four games in upset fashion just to get to the final, That included a win in the semifinals against second-seeded Overseas Elite, which has won this event four times.  

MAURICE CREEK DEJECTION

Golden Eagles scored the first eight points of the game, but Creek and Abell got hot and the deficit was erased by the end of the first quarter. It went back and forth the rest of the way, with neither team leading by more than six points. Diener's game-winner was his only basket of the game.

Golden Eagles, the No. 4 seed coming in, had Luke Fischer on their roster. He played at Indiana for one semester. He did not score in the final game. The celebration for Golden Eagles was fun to watch, because they celebrated like kings after losing in the finals a year ago.

When their money hit their bank accounts, there was some hooting and hollering.

Final results from all games

  • Here are the results and links to game stories from every game throughout the tournament. CLICK HERE
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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew has been the publisher of “Indiana Hoosiers on SI’’ since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as an award-winning reporter and editor for more than four decades, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He operates seven sites on the “On SI’’ network. Follow Tom on Twitter @tombrewsports.

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