Best Virginia is on to TBT semifinals following 74-61 victory over Shell Shock
Needing just one more point to reach the Elam Ending target score of 73, James Reese's jumper sailed over the rim and into the waiting hands of teammate J.D. Weatherspoon, who funnelled the ball into the basket to give the WVU alumni team a 74-61 over Shell Shock, a University of Maryland alumni team.
In its sixth season of playing in TBT, Best Virginia is now just two wins shy of winning the $1 million winner-take-all prize money.
'We're not moral victory-type guys,' Best Virginia head coach Jarrod West said. 'I'm not downplaying it, but it's championship or bust. We're happy, but we've not done anything yet.'
Up next is a TBT mainstay. Best Virginia will host Eberlein Drive at 6 p.m. Thursday (FS1) in Charleston for the right to advance to the championship game. Eberlein Drive – winners of the Lexington, Ky. Regional – has played in TBT since the first tournament in 2014, and advanced to the 2018 championship game.
While Reese missed that last attempt, the former North Texas and South Carolina standout was money for Best Virginia the rest of the way. He finished with 24 points on 9 of 18 shooting, his fourth straight game with more than 20 points in the tournament.
Best Virginia, which had appeared in only one other TBT quarterfinal game in 2022, never trailed in the game, but Shell Shock got as close as 59-54 in the fourth quarter before Best Virginia picked up its defense.
Former WVU guard Kedrian Johnson picked up a steal and that turned into a 3-pointer by Toby Okani, a standout on last season's WVU team.
Then it was Reese's turn. He came up with another steal on Shell Shock's next possession, raced down the floor and converted on an and-one three-point play for a 65-54 lead that represented the start of the Elam Ending.
'We were just playing ultra hard and ended up in the right spots,' Reese said. 'We've got high IQ players. If you keep playing hard, you'll end up in positions like that. The ball just happened to find me.'
Shell Shock scored the first five points in the Elam Ending to make it 65-59, but Best Virginia took control from there.
Jarrod West – the son of the head coach – made a jumpshot and Reese turned a Shell Shock turnover into a runout lay-up for Johnson.
Best Virginia's defense also got a blocked shot from Weatherspoon and Okani came away with a steal of his own that turned into another lay-up. Okani came off the bench to score 10 points with six rebounds and two steals.
'Toby's a great X-factor for us,' coach West said. 'He's a flexible band-aid; he can guard multiple positions. With his intangibles — deflections, blocked shots, running the floor — he creates so much for us. His second half was very, very good for us. He's a big piece of the puzzle.'
Shell Shock had 11 possessions during the Elam Ending. It turned the ball over on four of those and had a shot blocked on another.
Eberlein Drive defeated Sideline Cancer, 88-75, and led by as many as 23 points in its quarterfinal. Gabe York, a former Arizona standout, led the way with 23 points. Terrell Brown, who played in the Pac-12 at both Arizona and Washington, came off the bench to add 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
3 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Eberlein Drive vs AfterShocks: How to Watch, Stream TBT Championship, Odds
AfterShocks and Eberlein Drive are set to meet in the Championship Game of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), with $1 million on the line. Here's everything you need to know about the AfterShocks vs Eberlein Drive showdown in the TBT Finals: How to watch Eberlein Drive vs AfterShocks Date: Sunday, August 3, 2025 Time: 4:00 p.m. ET TV: FOX Streaming: and FOX Sports App LeBron James considered joining the Dallas Mavericks before opting-in to his $52 million player option. Colin Cowherd says that LeBron is 'no longer about winning'. Eberlein Drive vs AfterShocks Odds As of August 1, 2025, here are the odds (via DraftKings): Eberlein Drive is favored by -1.5 points (-110) Eberlein Drive Moneyline: -125 AfterShocks Moneyline: +105 Path to the Finals Eberlein Drive (2) Eberlein Drive 85, (3) Best Virginia (West Virginia Alumni) 77 (2) Eberlein Drive 88, (4) Sideline Cancer 75 (2) Eberlein Drive 71, (1) La Familia (Kentucky Alumni) 70 (2) Eberlein Drive 86, (6) Tampa Florida Pickup Basketball 68 (2) Eberlein Drive 81, (7) Richards Elite 63 Both teams came out strong in this one. Eberlein Drive held a narrow advantage over Best Virginia after the first quarter, 21-18, but the WVU alum had a second-quarter spark that put them ahead 40-37 headed into halftime. Terry Taylor (Eberlein Drive) and Toby Okani (Best Virginia) led all players in the first half with 10 points each. Eberlein Drive found its footing again in the third quarter, jumping out in front by three heading into the fourth, 64-61. Heading into the Elam Ending — the tournament's alternate ending, in which the game clock is shut off in the fourth quarter and a target score is set — it was a two-point game, 77-75. The target score was 85, and Gabe York came to life for Eberlein Drive. His clutch 3-point shooting lifted his team to the win. York led all players with 25 points. AfterShocks (2) AfterShocks 66, (4) We Are D3 54 (2) AfterShocks 74, (1) Heartfire 68 (2) AfterShocks 66, (1) Forever Coogs (Houston) 63 (2) AfterShocks 85, (3) Challenge ALS 68 (2) AfterShocks 74, (7) No Excuses 51 Both teams were neck and neck to start this one, but AfterShocks pulled away in the second quarter, putting up 21 points to We Are D3's five. Headed into halftime, the former Shockers stars were ahead by 18 points, 35-17. We Are D3 made a run for it in the third quarter and made it a single-digit game, 47-38, heading into the fourth. In the end, however, the AfterShocks squad have too much star power for We Are D3 to overcome. James Woodard led the AfterShocks with 12 points off the bench, while Ty Nichols (We Are D3) led all players with 14. recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the The Basketball Tournament Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Dominion Post
20 hours ago
- Dominion Post
Best Virginia eliminated in TBT semifinals by Eberlein Drive
CHARLESTON – There were two shots that you may go another two or three years before seeing something like them again. And rebounds, those darned rebounds. Want to know the difference between playing for $1 million and heading home empty-handed? In the case of Best Virginia on Thursday, the WVU alumni team came out on the short end of an 85-77 loss in the TBT semifinals against Eberlein Drive because of a lucky bank and its inability to clean up the glass. Eberlein Drive guard Gabe York, a former standout at Arizona, owned the Charleston Coliseum with 25 points, including two 3-pointers during the Elam Ending. One of them came with only one second remaining on the shot clock, while standing on just one foot and leaning so hard to the right it appeared he was about to fall over. That shot somehow banked in to give Eberlein Drive an 82-77 lead. A moment later, he ended the game with another three, this one while coming off a screen and launching about a 26-footer from straight away. 'They just hit timely shots,' Best Virginia head coach Jarrod West said. 'You have to give them credit. Sometimes the basketball gods don't shine down on you. He hit one off the glass. He hit a fade-away three that's hard to defend. They just made tough shots. That's basketball.' Eberlein Drive advanced to Sunday's championship game against either Aftershocks or We Are D3. 'The next one was going up,' said York, who had two of his three 3-pointers during the Elam Ending. 'After a shot like that first one, the next one has got to go up. Coming off that screen, they were a little late switching, so I had to get it up and it just fell through for me.' Besides York's shooting, Best Virginia's other issue was rebounding. Get this: Eberlein Drive came away with a dominating 43-22 advantage on the glass. 'Our initial defense, the first-shot defense, was pretty solid,' West said. 'When you continue to give up two shots or three shots, they're eventually going to score. I don't know how many second-chance points they got, but it definitely played a factor.' Those second-chance points read: Eberlein Drive 21, Best Virginia 3. 'That was one advantage we saw going into the game,' York said. 'Our big guys, (Nate) Watson and (Pedro) Bradshaw really love playing close to the rim. We thought their bigs like to stay outside and shoot threes. We wanted to try and take advantage on the inside.' And with all of that, Eberlein Drive's lead was just 77-75 when the team called a timeout to force the Elam Ending. The target score was set at 85 and well … A bank, a 26-footer and another shot from the corner – all from York – accounted for all of Eberlein Drive's points. 'First of all, York is a good player,' Best Virginia guard Jarrod West – the son of the head coach – said. 'He's hunting shots, so he shoots with a lot of confidence. That's probably one of the toughest things about guarding him. 'The bank is what it is. Unfortunately that happens. That's the toughest one to accept, because you feel like you play good defense for 29 seconds and then he banks one in.' All Best Virginia could muster was a jumper from James Reese during the Elam Ending. Reese had surpassed 20 points in each of Best Virginia's first four games, but he finished with 15 points on Thursday. Reese did get it going in the second half, when he scored 11 of his 15, but he finished just 1 of 4 from 3-point range. Reese, a former standout at North Texas and South Carolina, was attempting to become the first player since former BYU All-American Jimmer Fredette in 2018 to surpass 20 points in five straight TBT games. The younger West, who played his college ball at Marshall and Louisville, added 10 points and eight assists. Former WVU standout Toby Okani came off the bench to add 14 points. Terry Taylor added 12 points and seven rebounds for Eberlein Drive. 'It hurts, especially when you're that close,' coach West said. 'They made some tough shots down the stretch. I just met with the guys and it was a blessing for two weeks this summer to be with great guys. I told them they represented the state and represented their families very well. I just wish we could have taken one more step. We just came up a little short.'
Dominion Post
20 hours ago
- Dominion Post
University football uses off week for service, fundraising at WVU Hospitals Employee Appreciation Week
MORGANTOWN – The University High School Football team doesn't begin fall camp until Monday, but head coach Eric Snyder and the Hawks are already hard at work despite not yet setting foot on the gridiron. Since 2017, the UHS football program has partnered with RH Events (based in Powder Springs, Georgia) to serve during the annual WVU Hospitals Employee Appreciation Week. Players, coaches, and parents volunteer their time in multiple ways throughout the week to give back to the community, raise awareness for their team, and fundraise for the program in the concourse at Milan Puskar Stadium. 'WVU brings the company in to help throw a picnic and some fun events, and what RH has to do is find some manpower,' Snyder said. 'We come in and help with cooking, cleaning, and serving for the events that are happening here, and some other logistical things that need to be done to be able to have a successful event.' On Wednesday night, Snyder said multiple upperclassmen worked from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, serving roughly 1,000 hospital employees who work overnight shifts at the hospital. 'And today (Thursday) at this big event, we have over 5,000 employees we will be serving throughout the day, which is normally the case,' he said. 'For us, it's a significant fundraiser. WVU and RH Events help us raise money for our volunteer work. But at the same time, it's good, hard work, and a chance for us to get out at these different locations and show the community that University High Football is coming out here and shedding a good light for the program.' Coach Snyder says he worked with an assistant coach in the past who knew the people involved with RH Events, and when the coach's team was unable to help due to proximity issues, he knew Snyder and the Hawks would be the first ones to call. Despite it being an off week for the team before they begin fall camp on Monday, Snyder says the hard work and effort they give for volunteering is valuable. 'This is a long day, and some guys work multiple shifts throughout the week,' he said. 'Some of these guys are freshmen who haven't even set foot in the school yet. I told them this morning that they were in for a hard day of work. It's hot, it might rain, but you have to keep doing your job efficiently for everything to run the way it's supposed to. The food needs to be served, and the trash needs to be changed. It's one big monster that can work smoothly if everyone works together. We are sitting at about three-and-a-half hours now (11:45 a.m.), and we will go until six. We will be tired, our legs will hurt, but it's almost like the fourth quarter. You've just got to overcome it.'
