Best Virginia Defeats Herd That 89-79 to Advance to TBT Regional Finals

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In an electric in-state matchup between No. 1 Best Virginia and No. 4 Herd That, the West Virginia alumni won 89-79, advancing to the regional finals of the TBT tournament.

John Flowers opened up the flood gates in the second quarter, hitting back-to-back three’s that started an 18-4 run. Jamel Morris and Jermaine Haley contributed to the huge run. Flowers finished with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three. Best Virginia’s defense came alive in the same quarter as the Mountaineer alumni out-scored Marshall’s, 26-19.

Best Virginia and Herd That started off the game throwing punches back-and-forth as the crowd really got into it. Both WVU and Marshall fans had a great showing in the Charleston Coliseum. According to TBT, this was probably their highest attending game in tournament history.

With four minutes remaining in the game, the clock was turned off with Best Virginia up 80-61 to being the Elam Ending. The Elam Ending is the TBT’s way of finishing off a game. The clock turns off and the only way to win is to hit the target score. The target score is the leading team’s score, plus eight points.

The target score was 88 after a layup by Tanner McGrew.

Towards the end of the first half, Herd That was able to make a run getting back into the game. The Herd trailed 41-34 at the half after a 10-0 run led by Jon Elmore. Two technical fouls issued to Herd That’s bench ended their momentum in the third quarter and Best Virginia went into the fourth with a 16-point lead.

No. 1 Best Virginia will take on No. 2 Bucketneers, an ETSU alumni-based team, in the Charleston regional final of the TBT. The game is set to tipoff on Wednesday at 7 p.m. with the winner heading to Dayton for the TBT Championships. The Mountaineer alumni defeated No. 8 Virginia Dream 75-45 and No. 4 Herd That 89-79 to reach the final day.