Spartans, Huskies win at B4A

The 10th edition of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis (B4A) Men’s Tournament got off to a competitive start with the Michigan State University (MSU) Spartans edging the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers 63-61 inside the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort on Wednesday.

The Spartans had an alley-oop slam dunk from Marcus Bingham Jr. with 3.4 seconds left in regulation to help them seal the victory. They advance to the semifinals to play the University of Connecticut Huskies today at noon.

Bingham almost finished with a double-double with 11 points and nine boards in 24 minutes on the floor. He was a menace for the Ramblers on the defensive side of the ball, swatting away seven shots. His seventh block and ninth rebound of the afternoon came with under 19 seconds left to preserve the win.

The teams traded the lead down the final stretch as both were unable to create any separation. Spartans’ forward Malik Hall, who led all scorers with 26 points, connected on a three-pointer with 1:37 left in the game. He put the Spartans up 61-58.

The Ramblers tied it at 61 points when Braden Norris, who had nine points in the game, connected on a three-point shot 17 seconds later.

No team was able to break the tie until Bingham Jr. rolled to the basket and caught a well-placed pass from Tyson Walker and slammed the dunk home to help his team advance to the semifinals.

The game had eight lead changes and four ties.

In the first five minutes of the game, the Spartans quickly jumped out to a 9-0 lead, setting a tone. The Ramblers worked their way into the game and eventually took the lead on a Keith Clemons three-point shot at the 6:44 mark of the first half. They led 18-17 at that point.

After the game was tied at 19 points at the 6:02 mark of the first half, the Ramblers went on their own 9-0 run that ended at the 1:26 mark of the first half. They led 28-19 at that point but the first half ended with them up just 28-23.

The Ramblers led the game until the 12:55 mark in the second half before the Spartans woke up and take a 38-37 lead. The Ramblers took a 56-55 lead on a Lucas Williamson layup with 4:05 remaining in the game. He led the Ramblers with 16 points.

It was a tale of two halves for the Spartans as they only had one made three-pointer in the first half. They then went on to make five three-pointers in the second half that kept them in the game.

It was a double overtime thriller and a loud arena in the Huskies and Auburn University Tigers matchup. In the end, the Huskies held on to win, 115-109.

The Huskies were led by Adama Sanogo who scored a career-high 30 points to propel his team to victory. His teammate Tyler Polley scored a career-high 24 points including the go-ahead three-point shot with 2:58 left in the second overtime period to give his team an advantage.

The Huskies blew a 15-point lead which culminated with Jabari Smith making a three-pointer to put the Tigers up 76-74 at the 2:37 mark of the second half.

K.D. Johnson paced the Tigers with 27 points and Smith chipped in with 22 points.

Polley made a three-pointer with 15 seconds left in the second half to put his team up 83-81. Johnson made a layup with five seconds left to tie the game at 83 points and send it into overtime.

The Huskies had another meltdown in the first 

overtime period after going up 95-91 with 22 seconds left. Johnson made a pair of free throws and then made a layup with two seconds left in the game to tie it at 95 points to send it into double overtime.

In the second overtime, the Tigers ran out of steam as they had no answer for the Huskies. The Huskies outscored the Tigers 20-14 to survive the scare.

For the 10th edition, organizers had a tailgate party on the porch where persons enjoyed the games on a big screen outside the arena.

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