Orange fans got a familiar summer payoff Thursday night, and it came in a building that usually belongs to the Syracuse Crunch.
At the OnCenter War Memorial, Boeheim’s Army closed out its opening-round best-of-three series in The Basketball Tournament with an 81-76 win over Hall In, the Seton Hall-based team. The victory sends the Syracuse-heavy group into the semifinal weekend.
The setting gave the game a different feel than the usual Orange home date at the JMA Wireless Dome, but the crowd still showed up in force. Thousands of Syracuse fans packed the smaller downtown venue to watch a roster filled with former Orange players and a few non-SU alums.
Boeheim’s Army had to get it done with a shortened bench, too. The team entered with only eight active players after Wes Johnson, JaCorey Williams and Chris McCullough were ruled out just hours before tip-off.
The game started slowly on both ends. The first quarter ended tied at 13, with the two teams combining to shoot 2-for-18 from beyond the arc and 11-of-31 overall.
Hall In kept things tight for stretches of the second quarter, but Boeheim’s Army found enough rhythm to take a 32-28 lead into halftime. Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu led the way early with 10 points and five rebounds.
By the end of three quarters, Boeheim’s Army was still in front, 59-57. Buddy Boeheim and Cole Swider each hit three-pointers as the Orange side pushed the lead to nine before the four-minute mark.
The fourth quarter followed TBT’s Elam Ending format again. Boeheim’s Army carried a 73-64 lead into the under-four-minute mark, with the target score set at 81. Hall In needed 17 points before Boeheim’s Army could get eight more to flip the game.
That comeback never fully materialized. Boeheim’s Army got to the target first and moved on.
Swider and Tyson Walker led the scoring with 15 points apiece, and Walker added 10 assists. Akobundu-Ehiogu finished with 14 points.
Next up is La Familia, the Kentucky alumni team, which advanced with a 63-57 win over The Ville on Wednesday night. That semifinal is set for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ken., and it will be winner-take-all.
Around the alumni bracket, the reigning champion AfterShocks are already up 1-0 in their series. The Wichita State alumni are in position to defend their title.
The Kansas and Kansas State alumni are headed to a decisive Game 3 after former Jayhawk Frank Mason helped erase a double-digit halftime deficit to even the series. That final game is scheduled for Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The alumni champion will ultimately meet the non-alumni champion for the $2 million prize.
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