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3 Headed Monsters vs. Trilogy Set for 2021 BIG3 Basketball League Championship
August 28, 2021
The 2021 BIG3 Championship Game is set, with 3 Headed Monsters set to take on Trilogy next Saturday from Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
This year's title game will be a rematch of the first-ever BIG3 Championship in 2017. Trilogy won that matchup 51-46 behind 22 points from Rashad McCants.
Saturday's semifinal featured the top four teams in the league during the regular season squaring off. Tri-State clinched the No. 1 overall seed thanks to its 51-36 victory over Triplets last week.
Tri-State, Triplets and 3 Headed Monsters finished the regular season with identical 6-2 records, followed by Trilogy at 5-3. Those four teams made the playoffs with the top four point differentials in the league.
2021 BIG3 Semifinal Results
3 Headed Monsters 51, Triplets 39
Trilogy 50, Tri-State 42
2021 BIG3 Championship Game
Matchup: 3 Headed Monsters vs. Trilogy
Date: Saturday, Sept. 4
Start time: 4 p.m. ET
Watch: CBS
Despite coming into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, Trilogy was playing much better than its ranking. The team had the third-best point differential in the BIG3 during the regular season (+40).
Trilogy was able to build off that momentum with a 50-42 victory over top-seeded Tri-State to clinch a berth in the title game.
Jarrett Jack did most of the heavy lifting for Trilogy on the offensive end. The Georgia Tech alum scored a BIG3-record 35 points and made 14 of the team's 20 field goals.
BIG3 @thebig3JARRETT JACK ARE YOU SERIOUS? <br><br>Hits the game-winner. <br><br>Sets a new BIG3 single-game scoring record. <br><br>Sends his team to the Championship. <a href="https://twitter.com/Jarrettjack03?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jarrettjack03</a> <a href="https://t.co/scgN3Cb1Cn">pic.twitter.com/scgN3Cb1Cn</a>
Rebounding was one key difference in the game for Trilogy. James White and Amir Johnson combined for 21 rebounds, one fewer than the entire Tri-State team had combined.
White finished the game with a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists. He also had three blocks and made three three-pointers.
Earl Clark led Tri-State with 18 points and nine rebounds. Justin Dentmon added 12 points in defeat. Tri-State's 42 points were its lowest in a game all season. This also marks the team's first loss since Aug. 5 against Power.
3 Headed Monsters clinched its spot in the title game with a dominant second-half performance against Triplets.
After trailing 25-23 going into the intermission, 3 Headed Monsters went on a 28-14 run to secure the team's second appearance in the championship game.
This was also a revenge game for the Monsters, who lost 51-45 to Triplets in the regular season Aug. 5.
That game followed a similar pattern as this one, with 3 Headed Monsters going on a second-half scoring barrage. The difference in the first matchup was Triplets were up 27-12 at the end of the first half that it was able to hold on for the win.
This time around, though, Kevin Murphy engineered the comeback for 3 Headed Monsters. He dropped a game-high 29 points, including the winning three-pointer, and tied for the team lead with eight rebounds.
Rashard Lewis was the only other player for the Monsters that reached double-figures in scoring. The former NBA All-Star dropped 12 points and had a block.
Jannero Pargo and Al Jefferson had outstanding performances in the loss. Pargo scored 20 points on six field goals, all of which came from three- or four-point range.
Jefferson finished one point shy of a double-double. He had nine points and 11 rebounds, along with two assists.
This will be the first appearance in a title game for 3 Headed Monsters since the BIG3's inaugural season in 2017. It lost 51-46 to Trilogy.