Syracuse Basketball: Boeheim’s Army advances, will face tournament cinderella

Boeheim’s Army, the Syracuse basketball alumni team in The Basketball Tournament took down Men of Mackey to set up a quarterfinal date with Sideline Cancer.

The Basketball Tournament has sports fans glued to the screen and Boeheim’s Army is at the center of that attention. The Syracuse basketball composed team took on a Purdue alumni team, Men of Mackey, in the round of 16. Boeheim’s Army emerged victoriously, 76-69.

Led by Eric Devendorf’s 10 first-half points, Boeheim’s Army used efficient shooting to build an early lead. They shot 46% in the first 18 minutes of play (games in TBT run 36 minutes long).

The roster named after legendary Orange head coach, Jim Boeheim, fittingly used the famous Syracuse 2-3 zone defense to their advantage, forcing multiple turnovers which led to points in the closing minutes of the second period. Boeheim’s Army went into the half with a 42-32 lead.

Men of Mackey made some adjustments out of the second half gates, eventually closing the gap to a 58-56 Boeheim’s Army lead to end the third quarter.

The alumni based teams traded hard-fought buckets to start out the fourth quarter, with Boeheim’s Army clinging on to a 68-66 lead heading into the ‘Elam Ending’. With ’76’ as the target score, Boeheim’s Army amped up their defense, causing numerous deflections that turned into transition buckets and free throws, resulting in a 65-69 win.

Leading the Syracuse basketball team was a fan favorite in Orange history himself, as Eric Devendorf scored 21 points, to go along with 3 steals. He was joined by Donte Greene, who posted a solid 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Malachi Richardson provided 15 points and 3 rebounds of his own.

Colgate product Will Rayman seemingly found his footing on the ‘Cuse roster, chipping in 4 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.

For Men of Mackey, it was Frank Gaines leading the way with 18 points. Three other players scored in double-digits for the Purdue alumni team, with Isaac Haas totaling 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Up Next

The win places Boeheim’s Army into the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament, where they will face off against Sideline Cancer on either July 10 or July 11. The 22 seed in this tournament, Sideline Cancer upset the 11 seed, Team Hines, 93-91 in the opening round. Then, in the round of 16, they took down 6 seed Challenge ALS, 76-66.

In two games, Sideline Cancer has shown they can fill it up on the scoreboard. According to the TBT website, they average 12 offensive boards per game, a category Boeheim’s Army is susceptible to giving up due to a lack of size.

The main player to watch for Sideline Cancer is Marcus Keene. The Central Michigan product is putting up averages of 22.5 points and 6.0 assists thru the two games. He’s a three-point threat that gets into the lane and creates shots for his teammates. Boeheim’s Army will need to defend accordingly.

Time and date are not yet set for this quarterfinal matchup, but it’s sure to provide a very entertaining battle.