Day after defeating Mizzou, KU Jayhawks’ ‘Mass Street’ alumni team eliminated from TBT
Kansas’ alumni basketball team will have to settle for two victories in the $1 million, winner-take-all TBT.
Mass Street TBT, a KU all-star team that defeated rival Missouri’s Show Me Squad by four points Saturday and a team of Division III all-stars (We Are D-III) by three points Wednesday, fell to Team Heartfire 73-60 in the TBT Round of 16 on Sunday at Koch Arena in Wichita.
The 64-team, single-elimination tournament runs through Aug. 3.
Mass Street, which led by six points (20-14) after the first quarter, struggled the rest of the way. Heartfire, a collection of former college and overseas pros, won three games in the tourney a year ago. KU entered the TBT in 2019 and lost in the first round in its other appearance in this event, which is now in its 10th season.
Rodney Green, a former LaSalle guard and the only Mass Street player without KU ties, scored 13 points, while Lagerald Vick and Mario Little scored 12 apiece and Thomas Robinson added 11.
Keith Langford, 39, had four points on 1-of-7 shooting in his final game as a pro. He announced before the TBT began that this would be his final go-round after playing 17 seasons, mostly overseas.
Mass Street was without point guard Tyshawn Taylor, who has been slowed by a calf injury. Taylor played in just one of the KU squad’s three games. Marcus Hall scored 15 points and Richard Solomon 11 points with 10 rebounds for Heartfire.
The KU team went 5-of-28 from three-point range to Heartfire’s 6-of-23.
Mass Street’s Kevin Young grabbed nine rebounds to go with his two points. Robinson had seven rebounds. Little was 5-of-16 shooting, while Robinson was 4-of-10 and Vick 3-of-11.
Mass Street grabbed an early 20-14 lead despite playing without Taylor. Little, Vick and Green each had five points in the first quarter for the Jayhawks. Heartfire was a chilly 4-of-14 shooting in the quarter.
However, by halftime, it was 36-28 Heartfire. The KU team went cold and was outscored 22-8 in the second stanza. Vick had eight points and Little seven at halftime for a KU team that hit 27.3% of its first-half shots, including just 3 of 14 three-point attempts.
Hall (eight points at halftime) led Heartfire in the opening half. KU’s Robinson and Heartfire’s Raphael Putney each were tagged with a technical foul in the final minute before halftime. Robinson shoved Putney, who had just hit an inside shot. The two then exchanged words and were assessed the double-technicals.
Mass Street fell one victory shy of the quarterfinal round with a 2-1 record. In KU’s only other trip to the TBT, the Jayhawks lost their opening game in 2019.
Mass Street TBT defeated We Are D-III 70-67 on a Robinson bucket that gave the Jayhawks the target score. In round two, the Jayhawks beat Show Me Squad 69-65. A Robinson free throw gave KU the target score in that contest.
Heartfire, which won three games a year ago, losing in the quarterfinals, will play in Tuesday’s quarterfinals against either the Wichita Aftershocks or Team Arkansas.
