Zoo Crew Knocks Out Best Virginia in TBT Second Round, 91-79

PITTSBURGH — In the TBT edition of the Backyard Brawl, No. 2 Zoo Crew knocked out No. 3 Best Virginia from the tournament, winning 91-79.

Best Virginia won the rebounding battle 37-19, securing 14 offensive boards. The WVU alumni team turned the ball over 18 times and shot 68% from the free throw line.

Both teams out the gates shot efficiently with each shooting 7-of-11 before the first media timeout. Wesley Harris and Esa Ahmad scored 17 out of Best Virginia’s 25 first-quarter points.

Taz Sherman provided Best Virginia an offensive spark in the second quarter, including an and-one three-pointer.

Former Central Michigan standout Marcus Keene had a nice 12-point performance in the first round win vs. Brotherly Love but couldn’t get as many shots to fall on Monday night.

Zoo Crew went into the half with a 49-46 lead. In the third quarter, Best Virginia and Zoo Crew went back and forth with each other. Mike Young Jr. hit a jump shot to end the quarter, giving the Zoo Crew a five-point lead before the fourth.

Mike Young Jr. led the way for Zoo Crew, scoring 23 points.

With four minutes to go, the game went into the Elam Ending. This is the rule that TBT uses to end games and avoid late fouling. The leading team’s points plus eight is the target score to end the game. The target score was set to 91 points.

Former Pitt center DeJuan Blair was listed as active by TBT on Sunday night but did not appear at the game.

WVU HC Darian DeVries as well as a few assistants were in attendance for the game.

Zoo Crew will play Penn State’s alumni team, Happy Valley, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Pittsburgh TBT regional final. Best Virginia defeated No. 6 Brotherly Love 94-69 on Saturday in the opening round of the tournament.

The TBT Championship will take place in Philadelphia with the final four teams, which takes place on Aug. 2 and 4.

This will be the first time since 2020 that Best Virginia won’t host their own regional, playing in Charleston and Wheeling the last three summers. Pitt’s alumni team, The Zoo Crew, are doing the honors of hosting their own regional this week at the Petersen Events Center from July 20-24.

The Basketball Tournament is a 64-team field, which the winning team takes home $1 million.