The Basketball Tournament 2021 Results: Team 23, Sideline Cancer Win
July 22, 2021
Two more teams advanced to the regional final of the The Basketball Tournament's 2021 installment Wednesday night in Charleston, West Virginia.
The Wichita regional drew to a close Tuesday with Florida TNT and the AfterShocks punching a ticket to Dayton, Ohio, on July 31.
The AfterShocks had a vocal home crowd behind them to power past Team Challenge ALS, and Best Virginia was looking for the same thing against Team 23 at Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
In the other semifinal, top-seeded Sideline Cancer was matched up against the Bucketneers.
The Basketball Tournament Scores—July 21
Sideline Cancer def. Bucketneers, 58-57
Team 23 def. Best Virginia, 75-67
Recap
A layup by Desonta Bradford put the Bucketneers up 57-53 in the fourth quarter, one point away from winning the game. The No. 1 seed in the Charleston regional was on the verge of going down just as Eberlein Drive had Tuesday.
Trey Lewis kept Sideline Cancer alive with a bucket on the other end before both Bradford and Justin Tuoyo missed what would've been game-winners.
The ball eventually fell into the hands of Marcus Keene. The 5'9" guard could've attacked the basket or waited for his teammates to reset the offense. Instead, he pulled up from well behind the arc and delivered a dagger to the hearts of the Bucketneers.
That capped off a 13-point night for Keene. Jamel Artis led the way for Sideline Cancer, dropping a game-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Eric Thompson also played a pivotal role inside, collecting 10 rebounds.
Wednesday's second game was shaping up to be another nail-biter as Team 23 led by just one point, 66-65, when the officials turned off the clock and moved to the Elam Ending.
Nathan Adrian got a quick layup for Best Virginia to put the No. 2 seed ahead. But Team 23 closed with nine unanswered points to take the win. There wasn't much drama to be had as Daniel Ochefu drove to the basket and finished with his left hand.
Team 23 outscored Best Virginia 22-9 in the final frame, rebounding nicely after getting outscored by 12 points in the third quarter.
Hall was the standout performer. He came off the bench to score 20 points in 15:14 on the floor. Walt Lemon Jr. was the only other player to score in double figures (10 points) as Team 23 boasted a balanced offensive attack. The team also shot 61.2 percent from the floor.
With Wednesday now in the books, Team 23 will hope that hot shooting carries over to the end of the month against Sideline Cancer.