Golden Eagles Alumni will have plenty of time to sleep and drink beer after falling in The Basketball Tournament semifinals 85-60 against Overseas Elite.
Overseas Elite dominated from the opening tip, owning a 22-point lead at one point in the first quarter. In previous games, Golden Eagles Alumni never trailed by more than 11 points.
“We played a very similar team in VCU last week, and we knew what they wanted to do,” Overseas Elite guard Kyle Fogg told ESPN’s Jennifer Hale. “They’re an extremely tough team, but we knew that if we could try to make their threes tough, that we were able to get the win then.”
Elgin Cook made Golden Eagles Alumni’s deficit more respectable, scoring 10 points in the second quarter to trim Overseas Elite’s lead to 43-34 at halftime.
Cook finished the game with a team-high 19 points.
Meanwhile, Golden Eagles Alumni had no answer for Fogg. The Arizona alum finished with a game-high 38 points on 12-of-15 shooting.
The Marquette alumni team shot 42 percent in the first half, but Overseas Elite’s 58 percent kept the Golden Eagles from coming back in the first half.
The Golden Eagles appeared to be on the verge of a second-half comeback after cutting the lead to 58-51. Then a flagrant foul on Cinmeon Bowers, two free throws and an Overseas Elite bucket on the subsequent possession expanded Marquette’s deficit to 62-51.
Overseas Elite never looked back. While the Elam Ending rule technically gave the Golden Eagles a chance at a comeback, the three-time reigning champions remained in control to secure the 85-60 victory.
After leading the Golden Eagles in scoring in three of the first four games, Jamil Wilson was virtually nonexistent offensively. He had just one basket in the entire first half and finished with four points.
Previous opponents could not keep up with Wilson in the stretch-five position, but Overseas Elite had the athleticism to guard the 6-foot-7 forward.
“We have a lot of guys that can guard multiple positions,” Fogg said. “We’re very athletic.”
As soon as the Marquette alumni made a run, Overseas Elite quickly recaptured the momentum.
The win makes Overseas Elite 24-0 in TBT history and puts the team one game away from a fourth consecutive title.
The semifinal appearance is the farthest Golden Eagles Alumni has advanced in its three-year history in TBT.
