(Game highlights)
WHEELING, W.Va. — A 21-3 second-half run propelled Herd That into the third round of The Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2020. The Marshall alumni team pulled away from WVU alumni squad Best Virginia, 74-61 in the West Virginia Regional semifinals at WesBanco Arena.
The second round exit is Best Virginia’s earliest defeat since the 2019 TBT.
Best Virginia jumped out to a 13-4 lead early in the first quarter before Herd That found their footing on the defensive end of the floor. In the second half, Best Virginia made just 7-of-25 shots from the floor and they were just 2-of-15 from behind the arc.
“We really showed our toughness and our grit and our level of professionalism,” said Herd That’s JP Tokoto. “We were down. We looked at the score. We knew what we needed to do and we came out and did it in the second half. That was the end of the story.”
“At the end of the day, we just played Marshall basketball,” said Herd That’s James Kelly.
After trailing by nine points in the opening minutes, Herd That went on a 9-2 run that was capped by consecutive triples from Jon Elmore. Herd That trailed 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Marshall alumni team tied the score at 27 late in the second quarter before Best Virginia scored the final three points in the frame to build a 30-27 halftime lead.
Early in the third quarter, a Kevin Jones 3-pointer capped a 9-2 Best Virginia run as they built a 49-41 lead. However, Herd That scored the final seven points in the frame and they trailed 49-48 entering the final quarter.
Late in the third, Herd That forward Jacorey Williams fouled out after he was issued a personal foul and a technical foul in the same sequence.
“Jacorey is one of the better players in the tournament and one of the better players on our team,” said Elmore. “We rely on him a lot. But like I said, guys stepped up. It was next-man-up. Derek Cooke came in and dominated. JP made timely plays on offense and defense.”
“We just kind of forgot the game plan and we were fighting that attention battle the whole time. I am big on return on attention. Even me. I was kind of getting into the BS. We were worrying a lot more about a lot of stuff rather than what was going on next,” said Best Virginia head coach James Long.
“We were just worried about guys that were never going to see the floor chirping. They were just trying to stay relevant. We were giving into it and it just kind of turned into a joke for a while.”
One minute into the fourth quarter, Herd That extended their scoring run to 14-0 as they built a 55-49 lead. Back-to-back baskets from Derek Cooke Jr. later brought the lead to double digits. Herd That entered the Elam Ending up 64-55.
With the target score set at 72, it took Herd That six minutes of game time to reach the clinching mark. Elmore’s 3-pointer ended the game and gave him 16 points on the night, tying for team-best honors.
Herd That used 16 offensive rebounds to produce 14 second chance points. They outrebounded Best Virginia 48-41.
“We really wanted that to be one of our strong suits this year. If the ball goes up on the glass we have to capitalize on those second chance points, those tip-outs and keeping the ball alive,” Elmore said. “And plays like that win games.”
Five Herd That players scored in double digits. Elmore and Kelly led the way with 16 points each. Rob Gray scored 15 points. Tokoto added 11 and Cooke scored 10.
“We’ve got a lot of depth,” Elmore said. “One-through-twelve, we are confident guys can produce no matter what number in the lineup you are. I thought everyone that played contributed and gave us energy. We fed off that.”
In the fourth quarter, Best Virginia made just 1 of 16 shots from the floor.
“Guys get anxious and everybody wants to make a play when you are down and nobody is hitting shots,” said Best Virginia forward Kevin Jones. “I think we fell into that. Everybody wanted to be the hero ball in a sense — not in a negative way — just wanted to help out because the flow of the game wasn’t going our way.”
“It sucks having that lead and losing it,” said Best Virginia guard Chase Harler. “Credit to them. They made open shots at the end of the game. We just struggled to score.”
Kevin Jones led Best Virginia with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Jamel Morris chipped in with 13 points.
Best Virginia defeated Herd That in last year’s regional semifinal matchup in Charleston. Herd That advances to Saturday’s regional final at 2 p.m. They will meet Sideline Cancer, who defeated Challenge ALS: Florida, 60-51 in Thursday’s second semifinal. The winner of Saturday’s contest will advance to the national quarterfinal round on Sunday back at WesBanco Arena.
(Best Virginia postgame press conference)