JHX Hoops survived a wild, physical night and knocked out the defending champions in The Basketball Tournament, edging the Wichita State Alumni Team, better known as the AfterShocks, 64-59 on Monday.
The game turned chaotic late in the second quarter when KU legend Mario Chalmers got tangled up with Rashard Kelly. What started as a brief collision quickly escalated into a scuffle that spilled toward the baseline, and after review the officials handed out a staggering nine ejections. Chalmers and Kelly were both tossed, and seven more players were sent off after leaving their benches.
Kansas saw Chalmers, Jamari Traylor, Kevin Young, and Tra-Deon Hollins ejected. Wichita State lost QJ Peterson, James Woodard, Rashard Kelly, Mo Udeze, and Chaunce Jenkins. That left both teams with just six players for the rest of the game.
Even with the roster chaos, JHX still had the pieces that mattered most. Zeke Mayo stayed on the floor, Frank Mason III remained available, and Jacob Hanna gave them the kind of defensive edge that can swing a knockout game. Billy Preston, Carlton Bragg Jr. and Andrew Orr also helped give the KU Alumni Team enough frontcourt support to hang around and finish the job.
Mayo, Hanna and Mason III carried the offense, combining for 53 of JHX’s 64 points. Hanna was a menace on the defensive end and helped limit Marcus Keene to 13 points and 7 turnovers, while also adding 15 points himself. Mayo led the way with 25 points, attacking the rim and knocking down big threes when JHX needed them most.
Mason III had a rough shooting night for much of the game, going 3/19 from the field and 1/6 from three. But when the Elam ending arrived, he flipped the script. Mason scored JHX’s final six points, burying back-to-back huge threes to close it out and send JHX Hoops into the next round.
JHX now heads to Lexington for a matchup with La Familia, the Kentucky Alumni Team, at Historic Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday at 6:00pm CT. The winner will earn the right to host the TBT championship.
It’s another road test in a tough setting, but JHX has shown plenty of toughness and chemistry already. Coach Sherron Collins has been praising the group’s unselfishness all tournament, and now the team is two wins away from the $2,000,000 prize.
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