Scarlet Sunrise: Carmen's Crew rolls past Purple Hearts, advances to second round of TBT

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Carmen’s Crew rolls past Purple Hearts, advances to second round of TBT

Jared Sullinger made his return to The Basketball Tournament for Carmen’s Crew Saturday night in Dayton’s UD Arena — well, kind of.

Sullinger had coached Carmen’s Crew, Ohio State’s alumni team, since 2019. But this weekend marked his first on-court TBT appearance since 2018. And Sullinger, who is still playing professionally overseas, scored 3-seed Carmen’s Crew’s first points of the first and second halves versus the 6-seed Purple Hearts.

Except Sullinger wasn’t the story of Carmen’s Crew tourney-opening victory.

The story centered around a 21-0 second quarter run and a 43-year-old TBT legend and Otterbein alum.

After going down, 19-18, in the first quarter, Carmen’s Crew responded with a game-changing frame before halftime. They outscored the Purple Hearts, 27-4, over the course of the nine-minute period. The backcourt duo of Desonta Bradford and Jamel Morris — products of East Tennessee State and Glenville State/Fairmont State, respectively — fueled the 21-point scoring surge, but Buckeyes fan favorite Kyle Young lent a hand in the turning of the tide with his play on both ends, even recording a block and a 3-pointer during that sequence.

By intermission, Carmen’s Crew led Purple Hearts, 45-23. In a game that saw all 12 players wearing scarlet and gray etch their names into the box score, Carmen’s Crew didn’t let up in the second half.

Former Ohio State guard Keyshawn Woods knocked down a pair of baseline jumpers in the third quarter. At one point, Scott Thomas, who played his college ball at Bowling Green, drilled a 3-pointer to extend Carmen’s Crew’s lead to 30.

Meanwhile, the Purple Hearts got their most help from former Georgetown guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (nine points) and former University of Indianapolis guard Darius Adams (17 points), who scooted by his man to get to the cup for back-to-back layups before the end of the third frame.

The Wesson brothers connected a few times in the final quarter. First, Kaleb Wesson pulled down an offensive rebound leading to a reverse layup for Andre Wesson. Later, Kaleb stuck his hand out to disrupt a Purple Heart pass, and he turned the steal into an assist for his older brother, who slammed home a dunk.

But the oldest player on the team, Jeff Gibbs, put the finishing touches on a decisive 93-58 win. Gibbs won NABC Division III Player of the Year at Otterbein in 2002 and has been playing overseas for two decades. With a handful of fans chanting for him to come off the bench late in Saturday’s game, Gibbs got an opportunity to hit the Elam Ender.

He did just that, with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc.

Gibbs was all smiles, and so were the rest of Carmen’s Crew, which will now play 2-seed Red Scare (Dayton’s alumni team) Monday night at 8 p.m. on FS2.

Ohio State freshman duo impressing so far this summer

In addition to four new transfers, Ohio State welcomed a pair of freshmen this offseason: guard Juni Mobley and wing Colin White.

Both have hit the ground running with the Buckeyes, impressing first-year head coach Jake Diebler in their first several weeks with the program this summer.

“I think the two freshmen we brought in are good players,” Diebler said earlier this month. “And they both come from good programs and have been coached well, which helps. That helps that transition. They’re both really competitive. And they both love Ohio State. You can see that.

“They came here ready, ready to go, ready to work.”

For the full story on the first impressions Mobley and White have made, go here.

Best-case, worst-case scenarios for Buckeyes cornerback room

Lettermen Row “Cornerbacks Week” is reaching its end, but first we’re breaking down the best-case and worst-case scenarios for a room that’s helped bring back the “Best in America” status to the Ohio State secondary.

On one hand, this position group is arguably the deepest on the team with at least four players — Denzel Burke, Davison Igbinosun, Jordan Hancock and Jermaine Mathews Jr. — who could probably start for any school in the country.

On the other hand, that statement is based on the growth all of them showcased throughout last season. If the crew doesn’t take another step forward, or is bit by the injury bug, secondary/cornerbacks coach Tim Walton will have a much harder time fielding the No. 1 pass defense in the nation again.

Get our complete analysis here.

Counting Down

Buckeyes vs. Akron: 41 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 132 days

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