Peninsula products help HBCUnited earn victory
Norfolk St. coach’s team advances to the second round at Rucker Park
In a nip-and-tuck outdoor game Saturday night in New York with Virginia connections galore, Norfolk State coach Robert Jones’ HBCUnited team advanced through the first round of The Basketball Tournament.
Jones, a New York native, guided HBCUnited to a 76-72 victory over Skip To My Lou, a team coached by Rafer Alston, who grew up in New York and had that nickname in his playing days.
Malique Trent netted the winning 3-pointer as HBCUnited scored the last eight points of a game played under lights on a renowned court in Rucker Park, where greats such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving and Wilt Chamberlain played earlier in their careers.
HBCUnited, seeded fourth in the eight-team Rucker Park Regional, earned a second-round berth against top-seeded YGC (Young Game Changers) at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.
YGC defeated eighth-seeded Chicago Hoopville 79-74 behind former Florida State player Xavier Rathan-Mayes’ 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The winners of the 64-team tournament will split $1 million. The players on the other 63 squads can benefit, too, by attracting the attention of pro scouts from around the world. No players on current NBA contracts are eligible.
Five HBCUnited players scored in double figures, including three who played in the Peninsula District.
Former Kecoughtan High and
Bethune-Cookman player Brandon Tabb led the victors 14 points. He was just 4 of 13 from the field but hit all four of his free throws.
Ex-Norfolk State star Devante Carter, a Woodside High product, had 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, plus seven rebounds and eight assists. Former Hampton University, Heritage and Kecoughtan player Jermaine Marrow had 11 points. Trent, a former HU and Norcom player, and one-time Maryland Eastern Shore star Bakari Copeland netted 10 apiece.
T.J. Gibbs led Skip To My Lou with 16 points, though he was 6 of 18 from field — 3 of 11 from 3-point distance. Former William & Mary player Terry Tarpey was 7 of 9 from field en route to 15 points, while Kerwin Roach scored 12. Richard Washington, whose former teams include Menchville, Walsingham Academy, Wake Forest and San Jose State, was 5 of 6 from the field for 11 points.
HBCUnited led most of the way, including 48-40 at halftime and 66-55 after three nine-minute quarters, thanks to a 10-0 surge in the third. But Alston’s team surged in the fourth, trimming the margin to 67-65 with 4:02 on the clock. After the clock ticked below four minutes, the Elam Ending was in effect. Adding eight to the leading team’s score meant the first squad to reach 75 would advance.
Gibbs sank two free throws to end a 13-1 run that put Skip To My Lou ahead 72-68, putting his team just one 3-pointer away from winning the game. But it never arrived, since Skip To My Lou missed two shots from beyond the arc and two layups the rest of the way.
Copeland answered with a basket, Tabb sank 1 of 2 free throws, and Copeland netted a jump shot for a 73-72 advantage. After Roach missed a potential winning shot, Carter grabbed a rebound and Trent netted the winning 3-pointer.