Kansas State's Purple & Black alumni team wears down in 87-62 TBT loss to Bleed Green
WICHITA — The Elam Ending was mercifully swift, but the Purple & Black's departure from The Basketball Tournament dragged on much longer.
Bleed Green's superior depth and huge second quarter were simply too much for Kansas State's alumni team to overcome Saturday in an 87-62 blowout loss at Charles Koch Arena.
"I'm going to sleep like a kid tonight," 32-year-old Purple & Black guard Jacob Pullen said to teammate Thomas Gipson, age 29, after their second game in as many nights. "I'm exhausted."
By the time the Elam Ending — TBT's fourth-quarter race to a target score — rolled around, it was merely a formality as Bleed Green led 79-58 and needed just eight points to close it out.
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Seventh-seeded Bleed Green, a North Texas alumni team, advanced to Wichita regional final and will take on the No. 1 Wichita State Aftershocks in Monday's 8 p.m. final. It was a short stay for No. 3 seed Purple & Black, which survived Friday's opening round on a game-ending 3-pointer from Pullen, but didn't have enough left in the tank to do it again.
"They had good depth, so when we tired out in the second quarter, third quarter, they kept rolling," Pullen said of Bleed Green. "It's hard to win a tournament like this, back-to-back, with seven people."
Three of Purple & Black's three starters, including Pullen and Gipson, logged 33 or more minutes while the other two played over 25. By contrast, Bleed Green spread their minutes among nine players with only leading scorer Brandon Jefferson breaking 30.
Pullen, K-State's all-time leading scorer, provided one highlight Purple & Black when he knocked down a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to tie the game at 22. That's when Bleed Green took over.
An 11-point run, which quickly grew to 21-2, left Purple & Black grasping at straws while also gasping for air.
More: Michael Beasley leads star-studded Kansas State alumni team in The Basketball Tournament
"It was tough. We were in the game, had some missteps, had some missed shots and turnovers," Pullen said. "In tournaments like this, guys are playing for their livelihoods and they capitalized.
"They had a lot of professional players over there. A lot of those guys played all over Europe, so when you're gambling and making mistakes and giving up open shots, those guys they're going to make you pay."
Pullen, who scored 30 points in Friday's 75-73 victory over Lone Star Legends, followed it up with 18 against Bleed Green, but made just 4 of 13 shots from the floor, including 1 of 9 3-pointers. Mike McGuirl also had 18 points, while Gipson contributed 17 on 8 of 12 shooting.
The 6-foot-7 Gipson, who tried to use his size and strength to overpower Bleed Green inside, grew frustrated by the physical defense that resulted in just two free throws.
"All I wanted to do was be vocal about it to the refs and let them know," Gipson said. "But at the same time you've got to play basketball and I played through it."
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For Bleed Green, Jefferson led the way with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jordan Stevens added 15 points and Shannon Shorter 10 to go with seven rebounds and six assists.
Bleed Green also shot 50% as a team, including 13-for-27 from 3-point range. Purple & Black, meanwhile, shot 36.4% and made just 5 of 22 3-point tries.
Purple & Black had hoped to have 2008 All-American Michael Beasley available for the tournament, but a conflict with his BIG3 League schedule didn't allow it. Pullen said they looked into hiring a private jet to get Beasley to Wichita from Dallas, but couldn't work it out.
Aftershocks turn back Air Raiders, 70-60
The host Aftershocks used a 14-6 run to start the fourth quarter, building an eight-point advantage for the Elam Ending and reaching the 69-point target on a James Dickey dunk to prevail, 70-60, in the late semifinal.
The game was tied at 47 after three quarters. Conner Frankamp hit two free throws to put the Aftershocks up 61-53 with under four minutes left to set the Elam Ending target.
Frankamp led the Aftershocks with 21 points, while Darral Willis had 16 and Dickey seven to go with a game-high 10 rebounds. Air Raid's Davion Warren led all scorers with 23 points.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State's Purple & Black can't hang with Bleed Green in TBT loss
