JHX Hoops’ best run in The Basketball Tournament came to a halt Wednesday night in Lexington, where the Kansas alumni team ran into a wall in Kentucky alumni squad La Familia and fell 78-65 at Historic Memorial Coliseum.
The former Jayhawks arrived after a long overnight drive and, according to the FS1 broadcast, got to town at 6 a.m. before a shootaround several hours later. They had already survived a first-round best-of-three series with Purple Reign and Monday’s win over the AfterShocks, but this time their offense never found enough rhythm against La Familia’s pressure and length.
Archie Goodwin, who entered the game as TBT’s top overall scorer since arriving three games in, poured in 28 points to send Kentucky alumni into Sunday’s $2 million championship game. JHX Hoops, meanwhile, finished the night 21-for-70 from the field and 5-for-29 from 3-point range. Billy Preston led the Kansas alumni with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The opening stretch was competitive enough, with JHX briefly taking an 8-7 lead after Jacob Hanna hit his first 3-pointer of the tournament. But the early shooting pattern told the story: both teams spent much of the first quarter missing from deep before La Familia started to separate.
Willie Cauley-Stein gave Kentucky alumni an early lift with two baskets, then threw down a lob to push La Familia in front 12-10. From there, the former Wildcats kept tightening the screws. Carlton Bragg Jr. was called for an illegal screen, Goodwin buried a step-back 3 in the closing seconds of the quarter, and JHX then went nearly four minutes without scoring across the break.
By the time Zeke Mayo finally got on the board with two free throws, the Kansas alumni were staring at an eight-point hole. Cauley-Stein’s offensive rebound on a missed Goodwin free throw led to a three-point play for James Mainor-Bell, stretching the lead to 22-12.
JHX did show some life late in the half. Frank Mason III knocked down a tough off-balance 3 at the end of the clock, Mayo finished in transition, and Bragg answered a turnover by DeAndre Liggins with a putback after Mario Chalmers missed from the corner. Still, the half ended with La Familia ahead 37-30 after Andrew Harrison hit a pair of free throws.
The numbers at the break reflected both the fight and the frustration for JHX. Mason and Mayo were just 3-for-14 combined, and while the Kansas alumni grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, they turned those into only six second-chance points. Preston had already been one of the game’s most effective players, while Goodwin led all scorers with 10.
The second half turned sharply in La Familia’s favor. JHX missed its first nine shots after the break, and head coach Sherron Collins finally used a timeout with Kentucky alumni ahead 44-31 after Chris Coffey hit two free throws. The foul count kept feeding La Familia, and Coffey added a fierce putback dunk to make it 52-35 before Mason finally ended the drought with a layup.
From there, the gap only widened. Coffey tracked down a loose deflection from Jamari Traylor, went right back up through contact, and completed the three-point play. After another missed jumper by Traylor, the third quarter ended with La Familia in control at 58-37.
JHX made a brief push behind Andrew Orr and Traylor, and Mayo later hit a pair of 3-pointers after starting 0-for-5 from deep. But Goodwin and Morsell answered, and La Familia entered the Elam Ending with a 69-53 lead and a target score of 77.
The final stretch summed up the night for the Kansas alumni. Goodwin banked in a 3 at the shot-clock buzzer on the first possession after Mason believed he had stepped out of bounds, and JHX still couldn’t get enough clean looks from long range to make a real dent. Even when La Familia’s offense slowed, the gap held.
Goodwin missed two free throws with Kentucky alumni one point away, giving JHX one last opening. Preston tipped in an offensive rebound and Mayo drove for another layup to trim it to 76-65, but Goodwin finished the job with a turnaround jumper on the baseline.
JHX Hoops leaves TBT with a 3-2 record this year and a 9-5 mark all-time.
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