By KEVIN L. SMITH
SYRACUSE — Marcus Posley scored 19 points in 5th-seeded Brown & White’s 79-71 loss to the 4th-seeded The Nerd Team (TNT) on Friday in The Basketball Tournament’s Syracuse Regionals at the SRC Arena.
The Brown & White (B&W) squad, consisting of St. Bonaventure men’s basketball alumni and other former college hoops players, went back and forth with TNT from beginning to end.
B&W clung to an 11-8 lead a few minutes into the first quarter. The squad then proceeded to go on a 9-2 run to take a commanding 20-10 lead.
TNT, however, ignited a run for itself, this on 10-0 to tie it at 20-20, which was capped by a step back 3-point shot from Juan Rodriguez.
In the second quarter with TNT up 22-20, Da’Quan Cook knotted the score at 22-22 on a two from under the basket. Moments later, Preston Purifoy gave B&W a 24-22 advantage on a put back jumper.
TNT was holding on to a 37-35 lead when Azar Swain was fouled by Cook at the 3-point line. Swain proceeded to knocked three-straight free throws to bump TNT’s lead to 40-35.
Purifoy knocked down a two to cut it to 40-37, but TNT had a 42-37 lead at the break.
B&W stormed into the third quarter and went on a 5-0 run. The effort, which was capped by Posley’s long two-pointer, tied the contest up at 42-42.
Further into the third, B&W led 52-51. TNT suddenly turned on the gears and outscored B&W, 11-0, for a 62-52 advantage.
At the end of the third, it was 62-56 TNT.
B&W and TNT traded leads and ties for a large portion of the fourth quarter. The matchup then entered TBT’s Elam Ending format, which gave both teams a target score of 78.
TNT found itself with a 70-66 lead as they entered the format. After TNT went up 73-68, Posley drilled a 3-pointer for B&W to cut the deficit to 73-71.
Later on, Jelan Kendrick delivered a dagger from beyond the arc, which made it 76-71 TNT. After a free throw from Brandon Sherrod, TNT won it on a two from Rodriguez.
For B&W, Courtney Stockard finished with 12 points, nine boards and three assists. Dion Wright chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Cook had 10 points, five rebounds and five steals.
TNT’s Kendrick led all scorers with 25 points. Sherrod recorded 17 points and 10 boards for a double-double. Swain contributed 12 points and six assists.
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