After Tuesday night's blowout, Hall In responded with a stronger effort but ultimately fell to Boeheim's Army 81-76, eliminating the Seton Hall alumni team in Game 2 of their first-round series in The Basketball Tournament (TBT).
While Boeheim's Army opened up the scoring, Hall In kept up the pace and ended the first quarter tied with 13 points. The Pirates alumni took their first lead of the series in the second quarter, but the Syracuse alumni regained the lead heading into halftime. Their lead margin extended to 13, but Hall In ended the third quarter on a 20-9 run to cut their deficit to two. The Pirates alumni opened the fourth quarter with a basket to take the lead, but Boeheim's Army responded with a run to build a nine-point lead. Although Hall In outscored the Syracuse alumni 11-8 in the Elam Ending, Boeheim's Army reached the 81-point target first on a heartbreaking free throw.
While Hall In improved their shooting efficiency, they surrendered 13 points through 13 turnovers. Ant Nelson committed five of those turnovers, but scored 20 points shooting 50%. Former NBA guard Isaiah Whitehead made his series debut after missing Game 1, adding 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Already without Myles Cale for Game 1, the Pirates alumni lacked both Cale and Al-Amir Dawes for Game 2.
Boeheim's Army was led by 2026 EuroCup blocks leader Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, who shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field while finishing with 14 points and three blocks. He was set up all night by guard Tyson Walker, who scored the game-winning free throw after a double-double of 10 assists and 15 points.
With the loss, Hall In is eliminated from TBT. Boeheim's Army advances to face Kentucky's alumni team, La Familia, in the tournament semifinals on Sunday.
Peter Stewart is an assistant editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at peter.stewart@student.shu.edu.
