La Familia escapes with a Game 1 win over The Ville in TBT on Saturday

Kentucky's alumni squad, La Familia, which features six former Wildcats, kicked thngs off on Saturday in The Basketball Tournament as they took on The Ville, Louisville's alumni, in Lexington Memorial Coliseum. After some unexpected late roster moves, La Familia was ready to take the court and get things going, but doing it without Archie Goodwin, who did not play on Saturday, but expected to return next game.

How did the former Wildcats do on Saturday to kick off the three-game series with The Ville? Things stayed close to start, as La Familia made some timely buckets to stay with the former Cardinals after they led by as much as six in the first quarter. The former Wildcats went on a massive 14-0 run to retake the lead to begin the second quarter, thanks to a takeover by the duo of Darryl Morsell and Sean McNeil. That was exactly the run they needed to take control of the game as they then took an eight-point lead into halftime.

Andrew Harrison and @LaFamiliaTBT were ON FIRE in the first half as they took a 41-33 lead on FOX! 🔥@kentuckymbb pic.twitter.com/8uWxNMKASj
— TBT (@thetournament) July 18, 2026

La Familia really found success getting out and running and feeding off their defense and that really helped them late in the first half and for The Ville, they were able to keep it close thanks to some crucial second-chance points because they really struggled shooting from deep as they shot just 4-17 there in the first half, while the former Wildcats shot 60 percent. In the second, La Familia were able to maintain their lead by continuing to play some tough defense, which translated to buckets, but things got very interesting late.

The former Wildcats were up as much as 17 points in the second half, All of the former Cardinals' struggles continued, as they couldn't buy much from three and were just out-ran on defense as La Familia was able to find a ton of open shots. But, a 16-3 run for The Ville right before the Elam Ending made the former Wildcats sweat it out before escaping with a 72-68 win after the Louisville alumni cut it to a one-score game, 70-68, with the target score being 71. It's clear watching this first game how valuable the non-alumni players are for La Familia, especially Sean McNeil and Darryl Morsell. The two combined for 29 points. Kentucky alum Andrew Harrison also put up 14 points on the day.

🏀 A beautiful after-timeout play leads to an easy bucket, and La Familia closes it out! 👏

🚨 FINAL 🔵 La Familia: 72 🔴 The Ville: 68

La Familia defends home court! 😼 pic.twitter.com/X8zSvrBTcW
— LaFamilia - Kentucky’s TBT Team (@LaFamiliaTBT) July 18, 2026

Those three were the difference-makers on Saturday and they'll be looking to carry that momentum into the next game, which will be on Monday, this time at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Will La Familia advance to the next round, or will we get a game three back in Lexington? The former Wildcats certainly made a statement on Saturday.

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