The Ville Takes Down Boston vs. Cancer in TBT Opener

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Just like their first two outings in The Basketball Tournament, the Louisville men's basketball alumni team's third run in the TBT is starting off with a win.

Taking on the Boston vs. Cancer for their TBT opener, The Ville easily took care of business, coming out on top with a 91-71 win on Saturday at Freedom Hall.

For The Ville, who are the No. 1 seed in the Louisville Regional, defense and free throws helped carry them to an opening round win. They held eighth-seeded Boston vs. Cancer to 29.7 shooting from the floor, and went 21-of-28 at the charity stripe compared to 14-of-19 from their competition.

The squad of primarily UofL alumni shot 42.3 from the floor and 10-of-31 on three-point tries, notched 24 second chance points (to 14 from BvC) and logged 30 points in the paint.

Montrezl Harrell led all scorers and rebounders with 25 point/12 rebound double-double, David Johnson added 13 points, while Chris Jones and Jay Scrubb both poured in 12. The only starter for The Ville to not crack double figures was Earl Clark.

The Ville got off to a little bit of a slow start, missing their first six shots of the game to trail Boston vs. Cancer at the first media timeout. That being said, they were able to end the period shooting 7-of-13 thanks mainly to a combined 15 points from Johnson and Harrell in the quarter, going up 20-16 after one.

The inverse occurred in the second quarter, as The Ville started the quarter 7-of-13 to lead by as much as 14, before cooling off and missing their final six shots of the half. But thanks to some stout defense all throughout the first half, holding Boston vs. Cancer to just 11-of-38 during this span, they took a 39-31 lead into halftime.

When the two teams returned from the locker room, The Ville blew the game open in the third quarter. They started the half shooting 7-of-12 en route to a 9-of-19 quarter, while holding Boston vs. Cancer to a 3-of-12 start and 6-19 quarter overall. Leading by as much as 26, they took a 71-53 lead into the final period.

These two squads traded blows in the fourth until the Elam Ending was triggered, which came with The Ville leading 83-69. The only points that Boston vs. Cancer could muster during this time was a pair of free throws, whereas Harrell hit three plus a layup, with Jones hitting a game-winning three-pointer.

Next up, The Ville will progress through the Louisville Regional and take on the winner of fourth-seeded Sideline Cancer vs. fifth-seeded Madd Katts. Tip-off is set for Sunday, Jul. 20 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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