Carmen's Crew Live Blog: TBT Round of 16 vs. House of Paign
Columbus, Ohio - The highly anticipated debut for revamped Carmen's Crew is finally here. Last year's team took home the $1 million prize in the winner-take-all tournament and the team feels like it's added pieces this year to repeat as champions. In addition, they essentially get to play all of their games "at home" this year. First up, the University of Illinois alumni team "House of Paign", who won their opening round game 76-53 over War Tampa.
There is one "crossover" player in this contest that might have Illinois' fans attention. Former Illini guard Demetri McCamey is set to suit up for Carmen's Crew this afternoon.
Feel free to follow along with our thoughts as the game unfolds and drop your comments at the bottom of the page!
Overview
Date/Time/Place: Wednesday, July 8, 2020; 4 p.m. EST; Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV Coverage: ESPN (Announcers: Bob Rathbun, Fran Fraschilla, Jen Hale)
Radio: None
Live Stats Link: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=312886
Line: 'House of Paign' is a +2200 to win the tournament; 'Carmen's Crew' is a +200 to win the tournament. Odds provided by sportsbettingdime.com
What's at stake: The winner moves on to play in the TBT Quarterfinals on Friday against Red Scare, the University of Dayton alumni team.
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Starting Lineups: 'House Of Paign' will start Andres Feliz, Mike Daum of South Dakota State, Billy Garrett of Depaul, Malcolm Hill and Nnanna Egwu. 'Carmen's Crew' will start Aaron Craft, William Buford, David Lighty, Jeff Gibbs, Dallas Lauderdale. Everybody in Carmen's Crew's starting five is a OSU alum except for Gibbs, who is originally from Columbus, Ohio. Gibbs was the 2002 National Player of the Year at nearby Division III Otterbein, where he led the team to the National Championship.
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3:44 p.m. EST - Red Scare hit their 14th 3-pointer of the game and put away Big X, 77-68. Red Scare advances to play the winner of Carmen's Crew and House of Paign on Friday.
4:02 p.m. EST - Tip off is approximately three minutes away. Ohio State wearing warm up shirts that say "Don't Let The Dream Die."
4:06 p.m. EST - Aaron Craft spoke with ESPN's Jen Hale pregame ... "I think we're more comfortable than we originally expected ... We are hoping to get through the first few minutes and find our feel." As it pertains to adding Deshaun Thomas, "He's a better player overall than he was in college. Hopefully we can play a few games together." Aaron also talked about over-communicating and trying to get in a rhythm because House of Paign already has a game under its belt.
First Quarter:
4:12 p.m. EST - Both teams off to a slow start offensively, combining to hit just 2-of-10 from the floor in the first 2:30.
4:15 p.m. EST - Media timeout in the first quarter and House of Paign leads, 10-9 with 3:31 left. Malik Dime leads all scorers with four points early on. Carmen's Crew dominating the glass, 10-5 ... but they've only hit 1-of-5 from behind the 3-point line.
4:21 p.m. EST - Also, looks like William Buford has changed his hairstyle. After letting it grow long, he is sporting corn rows this afternoon.
4:25 p.m. EST - David Lighty with another nice drive to the bucket, he's got seven of Carmen's Crew's first 13 points.
4:28 p.m. EST - Jon Diebler gets fouled from six feet behind the 3-point line with just under three seconds left. He makes two of three free throws and cuts the deficit to 19-15 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter:
4:33 p.m. EST - House of Paign' finding a groove to begin second quarter, opening a 31-20 lead and forcing a Carmen's Crew timeout.
4:39 p.m. EST - Just like that, Carmen's Crew rips off a wild 17-4 run to take a lead! Jon Diebler, the Big Ten's all-time leader in made three-pointers, buries three of them during the stretch. OSU guys lead 37-35.
4:41 p.m. EST - Also included in the run were two triples from Demetri McCamey. Interesting storyline with the former Illinois standout, who is actually playing for Carmen's Crew again due to his longtime friendship with high school teammate Evan Turner.
4:45 p.m. EST - Jeff Gibbs is doubtful to return with a calf injury that has flared up. The former D3 legend turns 40 years old next month.
4:50 p.m. EST - Carmen's Crew takes 44-39 lead into halftime after a HUGE finish to the second quarter. Punctuating the period was a thunderous Dallas Lauderdale dunk off an alley-oop pass from Aaron Craft.
4:53 p.m. EST - Diebler, Feliz and Daum all have a game-high 11 points at intermission. Daum poured in 27 points against Ohio State during the NCAA Tournament back in 2018.
Third Quarter:
5:01 p.m. EST - third quarter action is underway with a William Buford 3-pointer!
5:05 p.m. EST - David Lighty buries another 3-pointer and Carmen's Crew has it's largest lead of the game.
5:08 p.m. EST - Aaron Craft gets banged up during a loose ball with 4:54 left in the third quarter. Craft went to the ground appearing to hold his left leg. He got back up under his own power and limped back to the bench during a timeout on the floor.
5:09 p.m. EST - House of Pagin has seven unanswered points and cuts the deficit to two points, 50-48 mid-way through the third.
5:14 p.m. EST - Craft is on the sideline but appears to be okay. ESPN's Jen Hale is reporting he has no structural damage to his knee or calf and she expects him to return at some point later in the game. The game is tied 50-50 with 3:28 to play, thanks to a 9-0 run by House of Paign.
5:19 p.m. EST - Aaron Craft checks back in with 1:14 left in the third quarter as Carmen's Crew tries to stop the bleeding. House of Paign is on a 15-2 run since David Lighty's 3-pointer gave the Scarlet and Gray a 50-41 lead.
Fourth Quarter:
5:27 p.m. EST - As the fourth quarter begins, Carmen's Crew trails 58-56. A rough third quarter after a hot start for Coach Sullinger's team. Perhaps one of the best games in the history of the TBT. Lighty Leads Carmen's Crew with 14 points. Jon Diebler has 11 points, Aaron Craft has four points, four rebounds and four assists.
5:29 p.m. EST - House of Paign's Billy Garrett, the former DePaul Blue Demon, completes a three-point-play to put his team ahead 61-56 with 7:30 to play in regulation.
5:31 p.m. EST - Huge sequence. Lighty corrals a loose ball and fires a 3-pointer. Then Aaron Craft draws a charge to get the ball back, followed by William Buford knocking home a trey to give Carmen's Crew a 64-63 lead with 5:47 to play.
5:35 p.m. EST - Mike Daum hits a massive 3-ball for House of Paign to put them ahead 68-64 with under 4 minutes to play. Time for the Elam ending ... first team to 76 wins!
5:38 p.m. EST - Craft with a lob alley-oop to Dallas Lauderdale cuts it to 2, but Mike Daum burns Jon Diebler base line and flushes it home. 70-66, House of Paign.
5:45 p.m. EST - House of Paign hits their last six consecutive shots from the floor and pulls off a great win over defending champions, Carmen's Crew. Final score, 76-68.
5:48 p.m. EST - David Lighty played well with 21 points on 8-of-18 from the floor. Aaron Craft finishes with four points, seven rebounds and five assists in what was likely the final game of his professional playing career. Tough night for William Buford, who only connected on 2-for-10 from the field. Four players finished in double-figures for House of Paign, led by Mike Daum's 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
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