Syracuse Basketball: Boeheim’s Army displaying fight and grit in TBT wins

It hasn’t always looked pretty, but Boeheim’s Army, the group of former Syracuse basketball players and other stars, has gotten the job done through its first two rounds of competition in The Basketball Tournament (“TBT”), the $1 million, winner-take-all annual summer event.

In fact, the Boeheim’s Army offense hasn’t produced what I would consider a ton of points in this pair of victories, but a win is a win, as far as I’m concerned.

What’s interesting is the stark differences in themes that have transpired for Boeheim’s Army in its contest one versus its contest two.

In the opening round this past weekend, Boeheim’s Army seemed totally out of sync on offense and shot dreadfully from the field. In this encounter, the No. 3 seed Boeheim’s Army could not get going offensively for much of its battle with No. 14 seed Forces of Seoul.

Forces of Seoul, to that end, held a seven-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but Boeheim’s Army switched from a zone to a man-to-man defense and put the clamps down on its opponent.

A 22-3 demolition in that last period resulted in a 12-point conquest for Boeheim’s Army, setting up a match-up with No. 11 seed Heartfire on Monday night.

The Syracuse basketball alumni team, Boeheim’s Army, is doing whatever necessary to succeed.

Not long after tipping off with Heartfire, it became evident that the Boeheim’s Army roster was ready to roll. The players came out with a ton of energy and assertiveness. They didn’t shoot lights out versus Heartfire, but they did shoot better than in that first TBT duel.

Boeheim’s Army tallied a double-digit lead for parts of this game against Heartfire, particularly in the first half. However, Heartfire didn’t go away, and it even managed to erase that deficit and grab the edge.

Once Boeheim’s Army allowed its sizable advantage to wither away, I have to admit that I became really concerned that our beloved boys in Orange were going to lose.

But these players did nothing of the sort. Once the riveting Elam Ending was put into effect with a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Boeheim’s Army absolutely locked in on defense, causing turnovers and making it unbelievably difficult for Heartfire to score.

Boeheim’s Army did a remarkable job of creating bench points, as well as points off of turnovers. Additionally, its scoring load was balanced, with seven players notching at least five points.

Next up for Boeheim’s Army is No. 7 seed Always A Brave, a Bradley alumni squad. This game, within the Peoria, Ill., region, is scheduled to begin at 7 pm EST on Wednesday.