It was at least a run, but one that ended too soon for the Ohio State alumni team known as Carmen’s Crew.
The retooled and reconfigured team that had a lot of Scarlet and Gray in its DNA made it through the first two rounds of The Basketball Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Dayton region, but fell to No. 2 seed Friday Beers on Saturday night, 72-63.
Carmen’s Crew started the contest by racing out to a lead and finished the first quarter with a 22-15 lead. Friday Beers didn’t shoot particularly well in the first quarter but started to find the mark from beyond the arc in the second quarter and closed the gap to 39-34 at the half.
The second half was unfortunately a different story. Friday Beers shook off a shooting hangover on Saturday and went on a run to start the third period and rode it all the way to a 55-51 advantage heading into the final quarter of play.
Came up short but it's good to be back!!
Thanks for the support @OhioStateHoops fans, we'll see you next year @thetournament pic.twitter.com/FKCuzPOfpJ
— Car❌en’s Crew (@CarmensCrew) July 30, 2023
Carmens’ Crew hung close and pulled to within just three points (66-63) within the Elam Ending, but Friday Beers connected from deep in two-straight positions to more or less wrap things up including a circus shot from Dee Bost to end things.
Now, we’ll have to wait another year to see if Carmen’s Crew returns to play in the TBT (they said they will) and what the roster might look like.
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