BIG3 League Basketball 2018 Results: Trilogy Beat Ball Hogs to Open Friday Slate
Boston's TD Garden hosted the penultimate week of BIG3 regular-season play Friday night as two playoff spots remained up for grabs following an action-packed Week 6 in Toronto.
While The 3-Headed Monsters and Power had locked up postseason berths entering Friday's slate, Tri-State, 3's Company and the Killer 3s were all vying for opportunities to chase a championship with the start of the playoffs on the horizon.
Elsewhere, Ball Hogs, Ghost Ballers and Trilogy were all playing for pride as they entered the evening in a three-way tie for last place at 1-5.
Here's a look at how everything shook out in Boston.
Trilogy 51, Ball Hogs 45
Trilogy avoided tumbling into the cellar with a come-from-behind 51-45 win over Ball Hogs in the evening's first tilt.
Despite trailing by six points at halftime, Trilogy mounted a major charge in the second stanza behind the contributions of three double-figure scorers.
Derrick Byars paced the victors with 17 points, while Al Thornton (12 points), Rashad McCants (10 points) and James White (10 points) also made significant contributions.
On the flip side, Andre Owens and DeShawn Stevenson led Ball Hogs with 14 points apiece.
The Ball Hogs will hope to avoid finishing 1-7 when they wrap up their regular season in Week 8 against Power.
Tri-State 51, Killer 3s 45
Tri-State is headed to the playoffs.
Although the squad coached by Julius Erving trailed 40-31 midway through the second half, Nate Robinson and Co. scored 10 unanswered points to regain the lead, 41-40, and never looked back.
Robinson dropped 14 points, including a huge four-pointer, and David Hawkins matched that total with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Former NBA All-Stars Amar'e Stoudemire and Jermaine O'Neal also got in on the action with 12 and eight points, respectively.
Tri-State's win also means 3's Company is headed to the postseason.
Killer 3s, meanwhile, were eliminated despite another quality outing from Stephen Jackson (15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists).
Power 51, 3 Headed Monsters 40
3 Headed Monsters had a chance to lock up the No. 1 seed with a win Friday night.
Power had other ideas.
Coming off a blowout of Killer 3s in Week 6, Power throttled Gary Payton's 3 Headed Monsters thanks to 16 points from Corey Maggette and 15 points from Glen Davis, who was playing at his old stomping grounds in Boston.
Former Miami Heat center Chris Andersen added eight points, four rebounds and one big block as Power moved into a tie for first place at 6-1:
Reggie Evans, who led all BIG3 players with 24 points last week, continued to stuff the stat sheet and finished with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (13 points) and Jamario Moon (four points) were the only other 3 Headed Monster players who entered the scoring column.
3's Company 51, Ghost Ballers 33
3's Company celebrated its postseason qualification with an 18-point rout of Ghost Ballers in the night's final tilt.
Andre Emmett piled up a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds, while Drew Gooden chipped in 10 points and four boards. In fact, all five 3's Company contributors finished with at least five points to round out a balanced effort.
The same couldn't be said of Ghost Ballers.
Ricky Davis and Carlos Boozer tried to shoulder the load with matching 15-point efforts, but Mike Bibby's scoreless outing didn't help matters.
While Ghost Ballers' season will end next week against 3 Headed Monsters, 3's Company will continue preparations for the playoffs with a showdown against Killer 3's when the scene shifts to Infinite Energy Center in Atlanta.
