Boeheim’s Army entered last season as the defending champions of The Basketball Tournament. They breezed past India Rising in the first round before coming up against The Nerd Team. After winning 81-74, TNT dashed BA’s hopes of repeating their success.

On Wednesday night, they got a chance at redemption.

After an emphatic win over Team Gibson, Boeheim’s Army came out on top over TNT. Grant Riller led the team with 27 points, a 10-point improvement over his BA debut. BJ Johnson contributed 10 points and Justin Robinson notched 12. Despite strong performances, BA faltered toward the end, letting TNT shoot a barrage of 3-pointers.

Here are some observations from Boeheim’s Army 83-75 win:

Johnson shines early

Johnson said after his first game against Team Gibson he was frustrated with his nine-point performance. Later in that game, he let out his anger with a highlight-reel dunk in the fourth quarter. Against TBT, however, he made sure he got hot early. He finished the game with 10 points, all of which came in the first quarter.

After Prentiss Hubb opened the game with a contested 3-pointer, Johnson responded with a one-dribble midrange jumper just inside the arc. The next offensive possession, Johnson received the ball on the right wing and rose up again, draining a 3-pointer.

The lefty wasn’t doing anything flashy, but he was effective. Johnson used his gravity as a shooter to pump fake before driving into the lane and finishing at the basket.

BA has shown its versatility on offense through the first two games of the tournament. In the first game, Andrew White and Riller did damage. This time, it was Johnson.

Finishing 1st half Strong

Boeheim’s Army didn’t start as slow as it did in the opening round against Team Gibson, but they did fall behind late in the first half. With four minutes left in the second quarter, Hubb drained a deep 3 from the wing to put TNT up by two.

Riller tied the game up at 31-31, sparking a 17-1 run to end the half and give BA control over the rest of the night. Chris McCullough began the run by intercepting an errant pass by Desi Washington. McCullough then dished it off to Robinson before relocating to the corner. Robinson found McCullough for the jumper.

Riller scored after two offensive rebounds to continue the run before another spot-up 3 from McCullough, this time on the right wing, giving BA an eight-point lead. Next time down the floor, McCullough set a screen for Robinson. He got just enough space to make a tight 3.

Riller scored once again after picking up a loose ball and finishing a wide-open layup. The run concluded when he caught the ball on the baseline and fired a shot for his 17th point of the half.

After outscoring Team Gibson by 15 in the second quarter, Boeheim’s Army again had a strong end of the first half Wednesday night.

3’s galore

Coming into the game, Boeheim’s Army knew The Nerd Team’s game plan was to shoot 3s constantly. Last year, TNT knocked down 16 against BA, hitting 55 percent of its attempts from deep. Boeheim’s Army attempted to run The Nerd Team off the 3-point line to mixed results.

The Nerd Team started out the game by knocking down its first two attempts from 3. The first came from

On TNT’s first possession, Hubb fired a high-arcing shot from the top of the key before Kyle Casey dropped in another triple. TNT then went through a bit of a cold spell, only hitting one of their next nine 3s from beyond the arc.

The rough stretch didn’t stop The Nerd Team from launching constant 3-pointers. TNT even benefited from some misses. Hubbs bricked a 3, but Casey crashed the boards for a put-back dunk.

Later in the third quarter, Hubbs got another chance to launch from deep, finding himself wide-open in the corner. The guard drained the shot with White fouling him in the process, cutting BA’s lead to eight.

Azar Swain also knocked down a couple of corner 3s in the third quarter, helping to keep TNT within reach as Boeheim’s Army looked to shut the door. As TNT made its run in the fourth quarter, Hubb knocked down his fifth 3-pointer. The next offensive possession, Brandon Sherrod hit the team’s 11th 3 of the game, cutting the lead to five right before the Elam ending started.

The Nerd Team finished 14-of-26 from deep. Hubb drained five of them, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Boeheim’s Army.

Securing the boards

Boeheim’s Army doesn’t have a ton of size, but it didn’t hurt them on the boards Wednesday. BA outrebounded the Nerd Team 38 to 28 with Jamil Wilson, the starting center, snagging eight rebounds.

Rakeem Christmas came off the bench and provided a presence down low. Christmas pulled in seven boards, but was key while attacking the offensive glass as well. He had a key putback late during the Elam Ending portion of the game.

While holding the lead in the second half, Boeheim’s Army did a good job of securing the ball on the defensive end, only letting in seven second chance points.

Published on July 26, 2023 at 10:30 pm

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