Carmen's Crew is headed to The Basketball Tournament finals.
The team of Ohio State alumni handed four-time defending champion Overseas Elite their first-ever TBT loss to punch their ticket to Tuesday's TBT Finals.
It was a team effort on the offensive end as four players reached double figures for Carmen's Crew. David Lighty led the way with 18 points, followed by William Buford (15), Otterbein alum Jeff Gibbs (12) and Jon Diebler (10).
DOWN GO THE CHAMPS!!!@CarmensCrew makes TBT history snapping Overseas Elite's 29-game win streak! #TBT2019 pic.twitter.com/qHKLVwLSJL
— TBT (@thetournament) August 4, 2019
Defensively, Carmen's Crew was led by none other than Aaron Craft, who finished the game with a seven steals – the highest total of his TBT career.
Carmen's Crew was red hot early, shooting 83 percent from the field through the game's first eight minutes with a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line to take an early 17-9 lead, forcing an Overseas Elite timeout.
Carmen's Crew stretched the lead to double digits immediately after the timeout and held a healthy lead through the rest of the first, finishing the quarter up 24-16.
Carmen's Crew controlled much of the second quarter, but Overseas Elite punched back just before halftime, using a 13-2 run to cut the lead to just two points towards the end of the quarter, but Carmen's Crew still maintained a 41-36 lead at the half.
The second half was as close as can be until the end. The Carmen's Crew lead never reached double digits with the score tied at 63 heading into the Elam Ending, making it first to 71.
Carmen's Crew scored the first six points to bring the score to 69-63, but the last shot proved difficult and Overseas Elite brought the score back to 69-66 before Lighty ended it with a layup.
With the win, Carmen's Crew advances to Tuesday's TBT finals, where the Ohio State alumni team will face the Golden Eagles – a Marquette alumni team – for the $2 million prize. Tuesday night's game in Chicago will tip off at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
In a previous meeting between the two squads in the 2017 TBT quarterfinals, Scarlet & Gray (the previous iteration of Carmen's Crew) defeated Golden Eagles, 81-56.
