Scarlet and Gray Roll Golden Eagles, 81-56, Advance to the Semis of The Basketball Tournament

By Vico on July 23, 2017 at 1:41 pm
Team Scarlet and Gray
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Scarlet & Gray is on its way to Baltimore after beating the top-seeded Golden Eagles, a Marquette alumni squad, 81-56, in the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

  1 2 F
#2 SCARLET & GRAY 29 52 81
#1 GOLDEN EAGLES 24 32 56

David Lighty was the clear star for Scarlet and Gray. Lighty's 12 first-half points came on 5-7 shooting from the floor, including 2-2 from behind the arc. His offense kept the Ohio State alumni squad on pace with Diebler and Sullinger limited. Lighty finished with a game-high 23 points and 3-4 from behind the arc. William Buford complemented Lighty's player-of-the-game performance with 21 points on 9-14 shooting.

Foul concerns for Sullinger limited his aggressiveness in the first half but Sullinger finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Leon Rodgers led Scarlet & Gray with 12 rebounds, also contributing 11 points.

Scarlet & Gray's domination of the glass was one of two overall keys to the game. The team tallied 48 rebounds to Golden Eagles' 34. The Marquette alumni squad compounded this problem with a poor performance from the field. Golden Eagles shot 31.74% from the field and a paltry 16% from the perimeter. Comfortable that Golden Eagles couldn't shoot from the floor, Scarlet & Gray even threw a 2-3 zone in stretches at the opposition to prevent Davante Gardner from getting clean looks close to the basket.

The Scarlet & Gray manhandled Golden Eagles despite playing without Jon Diebler for almost the entire game. The top shooter for the Ohio State alumni squad had a sore ankle after a drive to the basket yesterday against Always A Brave. He first appeared midway through the first half but was pulled after six minutes of action. A missed three-pointer underscored how hobbled Diebler was after yesterday's game. He sat out the second half and Scarlet & Gray relied on Buford and Lighty's shooting to carry the team against Golden Eagles.

Scarlet & Gray awaits the West Regional winner in Baltimore on Aug. 1. Armored Athlete and Team Challenge ALS play later today in Brooklyn to determine that semifinal matchup.

# Player FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA FT-FTA O-REB D-REB T-REB PF TP A TO BL STL MIN
00 JARED SULLINGER 7-15 0-3 1-3 3 5 8 2 15 2 0 1 0 28
01 LEON RODGERS 2-9 1-5 6-6 3 9 12 1 11 2 1 0 0 23
04 AARON CRAFT 2-5 0-1 0-0 0 5 5 3 4 8 0 0 0 36
23 DAVE LIGHTY 9-14 3-4 2-2 1 4 5 2 23 2 2 0 1 31
44 WILLIAM BUFORD 9-14 2-4 1-1 1 3 4 2 21 3 1 1 1 28
22 NATE MILLER 1-6 0-2 2-2 1 3 4 1 4 1 0 0 0 12
24 EVAN RAVENEL 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 2 3 0 2 0 0 8
33 JON DIEBLER 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 6
52 DALLAS LAUDERDALE 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 8
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