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Boeheim’s Army overcomes slow start to advance with 99-83 TBT win over Team Gibson

Next up Revenge on the Nerds!

By Kevin M Wall
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Louisville v Syracuse Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images

Syracuse Orange fans have been split about the enthusiasm about Boeheim’s Army the last couple of summers. It’s been hard when the roster is comprised of more non-Orange alums, but last night Boeheim’s Army reminded us all why it’s still an enjoyable summer experience.

With a rousing 99-83 win over Team Gibson, Boeheim’s Army advances in this year’s The Basketball Tournament. BA will take on the team that knocked out in last year’s second round, The Nerd Team, on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m.

Boeheim’s Army was led by Andrew White III and Grant Riller, who each put up 20 points. White literally stepped off a plane from Australia on Sunday and went out and shot 8-9 from the field (4-5 from 3). Dwight Buycks Jr. added 15 points and Rakeem Christmas had 11. Pascal Chukwu grabbed 8 rebounds in less than 12 minutes of action.

Team Gibson jumped out to an early 13-2 lead before the Army woke up. Scoop Robinson’s defense brought some energy and helped BA rally back to tie things at 18 at the end of the first quarter. From that point on, the home squad dominated. A 30-13 second quarter put the game away before new Orange coach Adrian Autry got to do his halftime interview.

The second half was about Boeheim’s Army retaining control. A 27-18 third quarter meant this game was put away and then BJ Johnson added the final nail in Team Gibson’s coffin.....

Or so we thought. The Elam Ending was activated with BA holding a 90-66 lead and it looked like it would be quick work, but instead the team in Syracuse-inspired uniforms decided to hold a lead like the Syracuse teams of the last couple of seasons. Team Gibson cut it to 97-81 before Dwight Buycks Jr. finally put an end to things with a drive and finish to reach the target score.

Boeheim’s Army didn’t miss Matt Morgan, Malachi Richardson and Tyus Battle in round one, but they will need to play a much better final quarter on Wednesday night if they want to reach the Syracuse Regional title game on Friday night.

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