LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Ville’s latest run in The Basketball Tournament got off to a rough start, and now the Louisville alumni team is staring at a must-win stretch.
In the opening game of the reworked best-of-three series, The Ville rallied hard but still fell 72-68 to Kentucky’s La Familia on Saturday at Memorial Coliseum. That leaves The Ville needing to win the next two games to move on.
It also drops Louisville to 0-2 all-time against La Familia. The UK alumni knocked The Ville out 70-61 in the 2024 TBT quarterfinals.
The game had plenty of swings, but the middle stretch belonged to La Familia. The Ville opened with solid work around the rim on both ends and led 21-17 after the first quarter, shooting 7-of-12 while holding La Familia to 4-of-11.
But the second quarter flipped everything. La Familia ripped off a 12-0 run to grab control, and The Ville didn’t score until the 3:58 mark of the period.
Louisville’s alumni missed its first six shots of the quarter and finished just 4-of-17, while La Familia caught fire and went 11-of-14 to build a 41-33 halftime lead.
The third quarter didn’t offer much relief for either side, but it did keep The Ville within striking distance. The Ville managed only 3-of-8 from the floor, and La Familia hit just 4-of-12, which allowed a 17-point deficit to shrink to 60-50 heading into the fourth.
That’s where The Ville finally made its push. It went 4-for-7 in the final quarter and forced La Familia into 1-of-6 shooting with four turnovers, trimming the gap to 63-59 when the Elam Ending arrived.
From there, the finish turned into a sequence of answers and counterpunches. David Johnson and Montrezl Harrell opened the Elam Ending with dunks to tie it.
La Familia answered with a 7-2 burst, getting layups from Darryl Morsell and Kahlil Whitney, plus a layup from Chris Jones. Morsell then added a free throw, and James Mainor-Bell followed with a jumper to get the UK alumni within one.
Trey Lewis hit a three to keep The Ville alive, but Whitney finished it with a backdoor cut and layup.
Chris Jones led The Ville with 16 points, while Harrell and David Johnson scored 12 apiece. The team shot 42.3 percent from the floor.
La Familia shot 41.1 percent, with Morsell finishing with 17 points. Andrew Harrison led the UK alumni with 14, and Whitney delivered the game-winner.
Game 2 of the series is set for Monday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m. EST at Freedom Hall, where The Ville will try to even things up.
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