Comeback Effort Not Enough, The Ville Falls in TBT Opener vs. La Familia

The Louisville men's basketball alumni team kicked off their fourth run in The Basketball Tournament with a loss.

The Ville's Montrezl Harrell (5) makes his way down the court against La Familia's Willie Cauley-Stein (2) during their game on Monday, July 29, 2024 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. during the quarter finals of The Basketball Tournament. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball alumni team's fourth run in The Basketball Tournament didn't exactly start on a high note.

Facing the Kentucky alumni team "La Familia" in the opening round of the retooled TBT, "The Ville's" furious comeback fell short in the opener of the best-of-three series, as they dropped a 72-68 decision on Saturday at Memorial Coliseum.

The Ville will now have to win two games in a row in order to advance to the next round. They also fall to 0-2 all-time against La Familia, getting knocked out 70-61 in quarterfinals of the 2024 iteration of the TBT.

The team of mostly UofL alumni shot only 42.3 percent from the floor, while the UK alumni were just 41.1 percent from the field. Chris Jones led The Ville with 16 points, while Montrezl Harrell and David Johnson each had 12. Darryl Morsell, a Maryland and Marquette alum, led La Familia with 17 points. Andrew Harrison was the UK alum with the most point with 14, while Kahlil Whitney had the game-winner.

It was a back-and-forth affair to start out, with both teams feeling each other out in the game's first few minutes. The Ville started to find a groove with their play around the rim on both ends of the floor, shooting 7-of-12 in the period while holding La Familia to 4-of-11. They led by as much as six points before taking a 21-17 lead at the end of the first period.

However, the second quarter unquestionably belonged to the UK alumni squad.

La Familia opened up the period with a 12-0 run to lead by as much as eight, with The Ville not scoring until the 3:58 mark of the quarter. The latter missed their first six shots en route to going just 4-of-17 from the field in the period, while the former shot a blazing 11-of-14. The UofL alumni were able to generate some momentum down the stretch, but still went into halftime down 41-33.

Once the two teams returned to action, The Ville couldn't do much to trim the deficit, but La Familia also wasn't able to hold a significant lead. The UofL alumni went just 3-of-8 in the third quarter, while the UK alumni were just 4-of-12, resulting in the latter seeing a 17-point lead dwindle to 60-50 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

In that final quarter, The Ville finally woke up. They went 4-for-7 in the fourth, while holding La Familia to 1-of-6 with four turnovers, cutting their deficit down to just 63-59 once the Elam Ending was triggered.

The Elam Ending started with a pair of dunks from Johnson and Harrell, allowing The Ville to tie the game. La Familia responded with a 7-2 run, where Morsell and Whitney had layups, Jones added a layup of his own, but then Morsell notched a free throw and James Mainor-Bell had a jumper to put the UK alumni within one point.

Trey Lewis sank a three, giving The Ville a chance to steal the game with another three, but a backdoor cut and subsequent layup from Whitney ended the game.

Next up, the best-of-three series between The Ville and La Familia heads to game two at Freedom Hall, where the former will look to even the series. Tip-off is set for Monday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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(Photo of Willie Cauley-Stein, Montrezl Harrell: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)