Former Penn State 'Hoopers' notch program-first TBT win
The Happy Valley Hoopers, a group comprised largely of Penn State men’s basketball alumni, went to Pittsburgh to win their first game in The Basketball Tournament history. Saturday afternoon, those former Nittany Lions did it.
Meeting the DuBois Dream in the first round of TBT at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center, the Hoopers notched an 88-77 decision. With it, they’ll advance to the second round where they’ll play the winner of the Stars of Storrs, a UConn alumni team, and Herkimer Originals, an American Basketball Association minor league team. They’ll play on Monday at 6 p.m.
The Hoopers, a five-seed in this year’s TBT, produced a dynamic offensive attack to get there. Led by electric scoring from their guards, Myreon Jones, Sam Sessoms, and Curtis Jones, they turned around a first-half deficit into a double-digit advantage. Despite building their lead to 10 points, though, a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Dream cut into it, sending the two teams to the half at 45-40.
Reconvening after the half, former Penn State big man John Harrar, who had 10 rebounds before the end of the third quarter, bruised his way to the free throw line to start the process of building that lead back. Missing the front-end of a two shot trip, his connection on the second made it a 46-40 game.
From there, the Hoopers pushed through.
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How it happened
Sessoms, still a bucket two years after the end of his college career, drove his way to an easy layup and an 8-point advantage. Trading 3-pointers, Daniels hit from the wing to maintain it. Greg Lee, meanwhile, also helped pace the Hoopers.
Former VCU forward David Shriver hit from beyond the arc midway through the third quarter, leaving the Hoopers nursing their smallest lead of the half, though. A Marcus Weathers finish at the bucket dug in deeper, making it a 53-52 game ahead of a timeout at the 4-minute mark.
Trent Buttrick stopped the bleeding, hitting a pair of free throws to send it back to 55-52. Grinding back and forth into the end of the quarter, a Jones 3-pointer lifted the Hoopers back to a 64-58 advantage with one quarter left to play.
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Out of the break, two minutes of fast-paced action found a break when former transfer Greg Lee sent home a floater at the rim. Back at the free throw line on the other end, the Dream kept the Hoopers within reach at 66-61. With no team scoring for the ensuing two minutes, a Sessoms 3-pointer put the Hoopers back ahead by 10.
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Again taking advantage of a Dream miss on the other end, Harrar muscled his way to a bucket in the lane to go ahead 73-61 with six minutes to play with the Elam Ending within sight. Out of a timeout, Jones built on it further with a steal and run-out. Following it with another picked pocket, the Hoopers padded their lead when Harrar sent home a miss with authority.
Former Penn State stars close it out
Ahead 79-64 into the Elam Ending, the Hoopers needed only eight more points to close out the win. The first team to 87, then, became a reachable goal for the former Nittany Lions.
Though the Dream knocked off three-straight 3-pointers for themselves, the Hoopers had two of their own to set up a final bucket. None were bigger than Curtis Jones’ 3-pointer off an inbounds in the corner, which he capped with a free throw.
Finishing it himself, Hoopers’ GM Harrar capped the win with a run-out dunk, winning the game 88-77.
In the effort, Sessoms followed up his 28-point effort in the 2023 TBT with another team-high 20 on Saturday. Curtis Jones had 15, with both Myreon Jones and Lee pitching in with 14 apiece. Harrar’s 13 rebounds were also a team-high.
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