Nasty 'Nati's TBT run ends in quarterfinals with UC alums' loss to Friday Beers squad

DAYTON, Ohio – The quest for $1 million ended on the last night of July at the University of Dayton Arena for the University of Cincinnati-based Nasty 'Nati in The Basketball Tournament. A veteran Friday Beers team that includes over 100 games of TBT experience downed the UC alumni team 72-66.

Nasty 'Nati trailed 64-59 as the game went to the Elam Ending just under the 4:00 mark of the final frame. That adds eight to the winning score making the target tally 72. After being down as many as 19 in the first half, then closing to within a basket, Daishon Knight made a jumper in the lane to win for Friday Beers and the celebratory dogpile ensued.

Nasty 'Nati only led briefly 5-4 in the first quarter. They spent the rest of the game playing catch-up and struggled from the three-point line making just 2-of-15 compared to the 11-of-30 marksmanship of Friday Beers.

There wasn't a lid on the rim

"They did a really good job of defending us," Nasty 'Nati general manager Kevin Johnson said. "They scouted, we knew they wanted to get Jacob (Evans) and Jarron (Cumberland) off the curls. They took the three away and made us score over them and we kind of struggled."

Johnson hopes to reassemble a group for next year's TBT after winning three straight at Xavier before advancing to Dayton.

Knight and Julian Gamble led Friday Beers with 14 points. The 6-foot-9 former Miami Hurricane Gamble also had a dominant night underneath with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Gabe York, who played on a two-way contract with the NBA Indiana Pacers this season had 10, mostly on treys from the stratosphere.

Return of Scott, Williams lasts just one game

In his lone appearance for Nasty 'Nati, Tre Scott had 21 points. Jarron Cumberland was held to 14 points but added six rebounds, Jacob Evans III finished with nine points and six boards, while Keith Williams had nine points after just joining the team over the weekend. Some of Scott's points came on lobs that were slammed through the rim with force.

"It was fun, especially playing with Jarron and Jacob," Scott said. "Me and Jarron we did that the whole time playing at UC. It was super fun to be able to do it again. I feel like we beat ourselves with a slow start and a few defensive breakdowns at the wrong time."

UC was down 33-14 at one point in the second quarter and twice cut the lead to a bucket on dunks by Scott. But down 52-50 in the fourth, Friday Beers answered with a couple of long balls for an 8-0 run.

Fresh legs didn't help

Nasty 'Nati last played a week ago at Xavier's Cintas Center, while Friday Beers just won the Dayton Regional Saturday, July 29. The week's rest wasn't enough to defeat the vets in blue.

"They came out and punched us in the mouth," Evans said. "We just dug ourselves too deep of a hole to try to climb back. As you get deeper in this tournament you're going to play against better teams. This is a good team. They're well-coached, disciplined."

Friday Beers is a veteran team with an average starter age of 30.8, while Nasty 'Nati's starters averaged out at 25.8. On this night, the "old school" prevailed. The younger 'Nati outrebounded them 33-30, but Friday Beers blocked five shots with four by Gamble alone.

"I just feel like they were the more prepared team," Cumberland said. "They did the right things. We didn't focus on the right stuff."

Cumberland who last played professionally in Mexico hopes his TBT work warrants a phone call. In addition to his points, he topped his teammates in assists with five.

Among the crowd at the game was current UC head coach Wes Miller and assistant Jake Thelen. Evans and others hope to return to this level given a glimpse of the limelight.

Same time next year?

"We could definitely do more, just in our focus as a group," Evans said. "That's a learning point for us. How serious this thing gets. It's $1 million. They (Friday Beers) knew all of our plays. This is real basketball, a real game. This gave us a taste of what we really want. We can use this as motivation."

The Basketball Tournament semifinals are now Wednesday, Aug. 2 at Drexel University in Philadelphia, followed by the championship game Thursday, Aug. 3 on the same floor.

FRIDAY BEERS 23 19 10 20 72

NASTY 'NATI 9 23 16 18 66

FB– Bost 2 0 6 Clarke 3 0 8 Knight 6 2 14 Brown 3 0 8 Dawkins 3 0 8 Freeman 2 0 4 Gamble 5 4 14

NN– Evans 3 3 9 Williams 1 7 9 Caupain 3 0 6 Letcher-Ellis 2 0 5 Scott 10 0 21 DeBerry 1 0 2 Cumberland 5 4 14

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Nasty 'Nati, UC alumni squad suffers a TBT quarterfinal loss in Dayton