After last summer’s run of the blue-collar U’s in basketball tournaments was just one game away from the finals, the former Buffalo basketball stars have definitely done the job this year.
The Blue Collar U led the Americana for Autism by 22 points from the opening chips en route to an 89-67 win at the TBT finale in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday night.
Blue Collar U won $1 million on a winner-take-all formula. Stars CJ Massinburg, Nick Perkins and Wes Clark will each take home $100,000, fellow starters Blake Hamilton and Dontay Caruthers will take home $85,000, and the rest of the players and coaches will take home $15,000 to $60,000. (Teams can split the prize money however they like.)
“It was a tough game,” Clark said in a post-match interview. “It’s just amazing that we won this Grind It Out — over $1 million.
“[It took] Ready. We all took this seriously. We all wanted this money. We all wanted to come back here and compete. I knew there was something left unfinished last year, so I just wanted to get the job done.”
The Blue-collar U were one game short of last season’s finals, falling to Team 23 in the semifinals after Clark’s TBT ended early due to a hamstring injury. The energetic Clarke is back and was in class for this year’s tournament. He led the team in scoring and had the game-winning shot against Red in the semifinals against his scare, but five different players led the team in scoring overall going into his game for the title. did.
On Tuesday, it was another balanced effort: each quarter featured a different top scorer.
“A lot of guys on this Buffalo team have more to prove,” Clarke told ESPN on Monday. Just to get a chance, to be able to play at that type of level, at that type, to compete and show the rest of the world.” It’s great to be here, but not to beat them. That’s what I mean. ”
With former Buffalo and current Alabama coach Nate Oates (the coach who blew the Bulls away in the NCAA Tournament to Arizona and Arizona State in 2018 and 2019, respectively) watching courtside, the Blue Collar U’s played from start to finish. was dominant.
Perkins scored the starting point of the game, giving the blue collar U’s a 2-0 lead and never relinquished that advantage. Hamilton had a key pair of his baskets early in the contest, and Clarke then hit three straight 3s, pushing the blue-collar U’s lead to 13 with his three minutes left in the first quarter. rice field. Clarke scored in the first quarter he scored 14 points and the blue-collar U in the second quarter he led 25-13.
After turning the ball over five times in the first quarter, Americana for Autism began processing the ball and earned several stops on defense. But after closing the gap to his 9 points with 5:34 remaining in the second quarter, the blue-collar U’s offense revived. This time it was Lamonte Bearden who scored eight in a row for a total of 10 points in the second quarter. With his lead widening to 16 points, the blue-collars took his 45-31 lead going into the break.
A pair of Nigel Johnson 3-pointers early in the third quarter gave Americana Four Autism hopes of a comeback, but the blue-collar Us responded with an 8-0 run in the next minute to extend their lead to 18 points. pushed up to With Clarke injured and temporarily moved to the locker room, it was Perkins’ turn to control the attacking side. The big game was in the 3rd quarter and he scored 10 points. Massinburg had a quiet first half, but scored five straight points to extend the blue-collar U’s lead to 22 points with 1:59 left in third.
With the Elam Ending in sight, Americana for Autism repeatedly reduced their lead to 11, but never within single digits. Massinburg continued to shine in the final period, earning seven straight blue-collar U points.
The Blue Collar U, made up primarily of former University of Buffalo players, dedicated each win at TBT to the victims of the May Buffalo supermarket shooting. Ten players had the victim’s name on the back of their jerseys, and three had “Buffalo Strong” written on their jerseys. Each time they won, they placed their jerseys on the floor in a circle and prayed for their victims.
“We’ve always been more involved with this city. This has given us the opportunity to do something poignant and devastating to the city. Nothing could be more important,” Clark said. said on Monday. “The community is very close to us. When we return, we run into a million people. They all congratulate us and tell us how excited they are. It gives you the belief and understanding that we are working together on this issue.”
