Boeheim’s Army Tops Blue Collar U to Advance to TBT Quarterfinals
Onward to West Virginia! After a sloppy and discombobulated first quarter, Boeheim’s Army, led by more Carmelo Anthony Grant Riller heroics and a game-high 29 points, knocked off the defending TBT champs Blue Collar U 69-54 to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals in West Virginia. Boeheim’s Army will face the winner of Herd That (Marshall alumni team) and Sideline Cancer Sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern.
In a tournament largely made up of thrown-together parts and guys on teams for a variety of reasons besides just winning, you could feel the heightened tension in the OnCenter on Friday night. Blue Collar U quickly ran off an early 13-3 run to start the game and a 21-9 lead after the first quarter. Much of that was at the hands of Blue Collar big man Nick Perkins, whose combination of touch and physicality gave Rakeem Christmas fits, and seriously sloppy play ball-handling from BA with ten first-quarter turnovers. Things settled down in the second as Grant Riller came in the clutch yet again and sparked a 15- run towards the end of the second to pump the SU fans back up and send the good guys into the half with a 1-point lead.
“He’s a great player, you can obviously see,” said DeAndre Kane, the TBT veteran said speaking on Riller. “His impact on this team is unbelievable, he knows how to get to his spots, [if we] need a timely score, we know who to get the ball to.”
The referees did no favors for the game flow, allowing tons of physical play in the first half but resorting to ticky-tack foul calls in the second, leading to a bit of foul trouble for Rakeem Christmas and Jamil Wilson. However, head coach Ryan Blackwell’s decision to go with some 2-3 zone proved to be the determining factor. The zone stymied down Perkins’ post touches and led to some inefficiency chucking from Blue Collar, who ended the night with an abysmal 27 FG%, including a 4-27 combined shooting night from Blue Collar starting guards CJ Massingburg and Wes Clark.
Riller would finish with 29 points on 12-18 shooting including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Chris McCullough added 13 points and nine rebounds while Rakeem Christmas had seven points, five rebounds and three blocks.
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