ALS to last eight
Former Fresno State star Marvelle Harris had 32 points and eight rebounds off the bench as Team Challenge ALS found its form after halftime, reaching the final eight of this year’s The Basketball Tournament by defeating the UCLA-centric Sons of Westwood, 86-80, yesterday in Atlanta.
Harris, the leading scorer in Bulldogs’ program history, helped Challenge ALS — created by former BC star Sean Marshall to raise awareness about Lou Gehrig’s disease — reach tonight’s quarterfinals. The West’s top seeds will face Eberlein Drive, a squad led by former Cal star Jerome Randle, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Challenge ALS struggled with the Sons’ size and physicality throughout the first three quarters, during which they trailed by as many as nine, then again after a fourth-quarter surge gave Challenge ALS a 79-71 edge entering the “Elam Ending.”
(Debuting this year, the format adds seven to the leading team’s score at the first stoppage in the final four minutes, with the first team to reach that score — 86, in this case — winning the game. Designed by Mensa member Dr. Nick Elam, it aims to prevent deliberate fouling at the end of games.)
Challenge ALS, however, immediately committed four straight turnovers as the Sons ran off nine straight points to lead 80-79.
Foul shots proved a savior, however, as play turned sloppy on both ends. Challenge ALS hit 3-of-4 to reclaim the lead and then, after missing a pair of 3s, two more to close within a point of victory. Westwood’s Malcolm Lee then missed a layup, leading to a fast-break, clinching dunk by Harris.
“He played unbelievable,” said Marshall, who had 14 points of his own. “The rest of the guys ... we have to step it up.”
Harris was also part of last season’s Challenge ALS squad, which lost the winner-take-all title game in the final second to 3-time champions Overseas Elite. The top seeds in the South region reached the quarterfinals on Friday night.
“We feel like we’re still the underdog,” he said.
Jordan Adams, an Atlanta native, led the Sons of Westwood with 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
This is the fifth year of the singleelimination TBT, the brainchild of Belmont native Jon Mugar. Seventytwo teams entered, with the winner of the final on Aug.3 in Baltimore claiming $2 million. If Challenge ALS wins, Marshall says $250,000 will go to ALS research.