No. 5 Zoo Crew Comes Up Short Against No. 4 Herd That in First Round of TBT , 86-71

A Nelly Cummings free throw cut the lead to six right out of the gates in the second half, but Marshall’s alumni responded emphatically with a 10-1 run to extend the lead back up to 14.

The Panthers stormed back in the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run kickstarted by a Jamel Artis floater. After Young hit two free throws, Artis came down the court and drained a three from the top of the key, cutting the deficit down to four.

Due to TBT’s Elam Ending rule, once the under-four timeout came along, the target score of 86 was determined. At the time, Zoo Crew trailed 78-69.

Zoo Crew could not get any closer down the stretch, as Herd That pulled away behind stars Jon Elmore and Rob Gray. Elmore hit a deep three to inch closer to the victory, and shortly after, Gray hit three-straight free throws for Herd That, closing out Zoo Crew’s chances at $1 million.

Gray finished as Herd That’s leading scorer with 27 points and the Marshall alumni walked away with the victory, 86-71.

Artis finished with a team-best 21 for Zoo Crew, while Young hit five of his 12 field-goal attempts in the loss, scoring 20 points. Guards Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, and Josh Newkirk combined for 13 points in the back court for the Panthers.

Nike Sibande did not play for Zoo Crew after being ruled out before the game.

With the loss, Zoo Crew is eliminated from the single-elimination tournament while Herd That advances to play No. 1 Best Virginia on Thursday night at 7 p.m.