Scarlet Sunrise: Carmen's Crew moves on to TBT Sweet 16 with win over Red Scare
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Carmen’s Crew moves on to TBT Sweet 16 with win over Red Scare
Glenville State and Fairmont State product Jamel Morris scored a team-high 17 points, Bowling Green alum Scott Thomas banked a head-turning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter and former Ohio State starter Andre Wesson drilled an Elam Ender of a 3-pointer to book Carmen’s Crew’s ticket to the The Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 Monday night in UD Arena.
3-seed Carmen’s Crew, Ohio State’s unofficial alumni team, accomplished that feat in the $1 million, winner-take-all tournament while up against 2-seed Red Scare, Dayton’s unofficial alumni team.
The in-state showdown in Flyers territory took on the form of a back-and-forth affair in the first half. Then Carmen’s Crew began to pull away in the third quarter and, for the most part, maintained its distance in the final frame, too.
Three Carmen’s Crew players finished in double figures: Morris (17 points), Thomas (11 points) and Ohio State fan favorite Kyle Young (10 points).
Young helped his squad make its move in the second half. First he cut to the cup, received a pass from Thomas and deposited a two-handed dunk to tie the game at 36-36. After that, Young returned the favor by pulling down an offensive rebound that resulted in a Thomas long-range make. And, not too long after that, the 6-foot-7 forward knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing to put Carmen’s Crew ahead, 46-39.
The closest Red Scare got to give Carmen’s Crew a scare in the fourth quarter was when they used three unanswered triples to pull within five points of the lead. Dayton alum Ryan Mikesell (8 points) hit the first one. Missouri and Buffalo product Wes Clark netted the next two.
Red Scare, who shot sub-40% from the field (39.6%) and committed 15 turnovers, were spearheaded by former Wright State and Virginia Tech big man Grant Basile (14 points). He didn’t come to the rescue in the final period, though — in fact, following Red Scare’s 3-point flurry, Young responded with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to re-establish an eight-point Carmen’s Crew advantage.
Andre Wesson put the exclamation point on a 71-60 Carmen’s Crew win with his Elam Ender. He finished with six points, as many as his younger brother Kaleb had on the night. Former Buckeyes star Jared Sullinger notably rounded out the game with eight points, six rebounds and two steals but also four turnovers on just 3-of-11 shooting.
Bottom line: Carmen’s Crew is still alive, and they’re still in Dayton. They’ll face top-seeded Heartfire — last year’s TBT champs — Wednesday at 7 p.m. on FS2.
Ohio State reveals most of non-conference slate for 2024-25 season
A handful of former Ohio State hoops players are representing Carmen’s Crew right now. But the current Buckeyes men’s basketball team won’t play again until the fall.
Still, we got one step closer to the 2024-25 season Monday when the program revealed most of its non-conference slate.
Neutral site games against SEC foes, a road game in College Station, a Big Ten/ACC showdown in Columbus, a Valparaiso reunion for head coach Jake Diebler — before the calendar flips to 2025, Ohio State will have plenty of chances for resume-building wins.
For more details, go here.
Five Questions for Buckeyes ahead of Big Ten Media Days
It’s officially talking season. Big Ten Media Days are here, and Lettermen Row is in Indianapolis for the three-day event at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and veteran cornerback Denzel Burke, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and defensive end Jack Sawyer will be there as well.
First, we’re posing five questions we have for the Buckeyes going into a jam-packed Tuesday in Indy.
Check those out here.
RELATED
- What we plan to learn about Ohio State at Big Ten Media Days
- What we likely won’t hear from Buckeyes at Big Ten Media Days
Counting Down
Buckeyes vs. Akron: 39 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 130 days
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