Assembly Ball Comeback Falls Short in 82-79 Loss To Eberlein Drive in The Basketball Tournament

After trailing 74-60 when the Elam Ending overtime period began, Assembly Ball went on a 19-6 run but fell just short of a miraculous comeback win on Tuesday night in The Basketball Tournament's Butler Regional final against Eberlein Drive at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Assembly Ball's Yogi Ferrell prepares for a free throw attempt during Tuesday's game against Eberlein Drive in The Basketball Tournament. / The Basketball Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A dead ball at the four minute mark meant it was Elam Ending time, a wrinkle unique to The Basketball Tournament.

It also meant new life for No. 1 seed Assembly Ball.

So with No. 6 seed Eberlein Drive leading 74-60, the first team to 82 points would win the game in an untimed overtime period. The Elam Ending is designed to create game-winning shots in every contest, no matter the margin of victory. It also discourages the losing team from constantly fouling and sending its opponent to the free throw line at the end of games, like it would when seeking a comeback in college basketball and NBA games.

Kristian Doolittle started Assembly Ball’s comeback with a tip-in, which was followed by a Rion Brown 3-pointer less than a minute later. Then Yogi Ferrell caught fire. Indiana’s all-time leader in assists called his own number this time, drilling a trio of 3-pointers – each drawing louder roars than the last from the heavily Assembly Ball-favored crowd – to cut Eberlein Drive’s lead to 80-74. 

“[The Elam Ending] creates such a sense of urgency,” Miller Kopp said postgame. “I loved it. I thought it was really cool. You come out of that timeout or media break and you realize there’s no clock, there’s just a shot clock, and you have to just get a stop. And every bucket, it’s like the end of pickup, and you don’t want the other team to score, like you’re playing 21 with some friends. You don’t want your guy to score and you don’t want to be that guy to get scored on.”

“It’s just super competitive, and it made everything a lot more intense in the moment. Everybody, the focus was heightened, I feel like. … The conversation was just compete, talk, help each other out, and just try to find a way to win, really.”

Brown really applied the pressure with a layup that made it an 80-79 game. Each team was just one possession away from a victory. But after a hectic scrum for the rebound, Eberlein Drive's Jake Stephens reached his hand above the rest for a game-winning tip-in.

Assembly Ball made a 19-6 run during the Elam Ending overtime period, but it fell just short in an 82-79 loss to Eberlein Drive in The Basketball Tournament’s Butler Regional final on Tuesday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

The loss eliminates Assembly Ball from contention for the $1 million prize after an 89-79 win over The Cru, a 68-55 win over Men of Mackey and Tuesday’s loss to Eberlein Drive. 

Assembly Ball, the Indiana alumni-based team, was shorthanded on Tuesday night, as former Hoosiers Devonte Green, Juwan Morgan, Race Thompson, Troy Williams, Noah Vonleh and Jordan Hulls all did not play. Green, Williams and Thompson were coming off long-term injuries suffered prior to TBT, and Vonleh wasn’t present for any games. 

Hulls played three minutes in Sunday’s game, and he suited up on Tuesday but didn’t see the floor. Morgan bruised his triceps in Sunday’s game but was unavailable on Tuesday. That left Assembly Ball with an eight-man rotation, which didn’t have enough to advance to the quarterfinals. 

It was a back-and-forth affair to start, and Assembly Ball even led 16-9 with 3:28 left in the first quarter, thanks to five early points from Kopp. But Eberlein Drive immediately responded with an 8-1 run, which tied the game at 17-17 through one quarter of action.

The second quarter was all Eberlein Drive, which extended its lead to 47-32 at halftime. The difference was created solely in the second quarter, and former Kentucky guard Archie Goodwin led all scorers with 11 points through the first two quarters. 

Assembly Ball did itself no favors to end the first half, which was capped off by a costly, self-inflicted mistake. With less than a second left in the first half, Assembly Ball’s Rion Brown fouled Eberlein Drive’s Jake Stephens attempting a half-court heave. Assembly Ball coach Adam Ross then argued the call and received a technical foul. That gave Eberlein Drive three free points and extended what would have been a 12-point deficit to 15 points. 

But Assembly Ball wouldn’t simply throw in the towel after a rough second quarter. After trailing by 15 at halftime, they cut that deficit roughly in half with a 21-14 advantage in the third quarter alone.

The run was sparked mostly by Keith Hornsby and Miller Kopp, who combined for 12 of Assembly Ball’s 21 third-quarter points. Hornsby and Kopp each knocked down 3-point shots, and Hornsby’s free throws at the end of the quarter trimmed the lead to just eight points, the smallest it had been since the 3:09 mark of the second quarter. 

In the end, though, Assembly Ball left a few too many opportunities out there. The team shot just 38.6% from the field and 30.6% from 3-point range, and five of its 11 3-pointers came in overtime. 

Ferrell ended the night as Assembly Ball’s leading scorer with 21 points, followed by Hornsby with 14, then Doolittle and Kopp with 10 apiece.

On the other side, Eberlein Drive’s well-balanced offensive attack was too much for Assembly Ball to manage. Five players finished with double-digit points, led by Stephens with 18 off the bench and Anthony Clemmons with 17.

Though it ended with a close loss, Kopp was thankful for the opportunity. He’s unsure of what the future holds after competing in TBT and the NBA Summer League recently, but Kopp said if he’s not on an NBA contract, he’d like to compete in TBT again next year.

“It was awesome,” Kopp said. “It was really cool just to put on the colors again, even though it wasn’t exactly for the Hoosiers, but it was still representing the brand and the school, the university and the program. It was really cool, and I’m very grateful I was able to do it and I’m hoping to be able to do it next year as well.”

“I always have nothing but love for IU fans. They’ve always shown me support, and since day one it’s only grown, hopefully mutually, because every time I’m able to represent the university, whether it’s for a different team, professionally, or something like this, it’s an amazing opportunity. I’ll wear that badge of honor, knowing that I’m representing Indiana and the fans, I think, appreciate that. I’m super grateful to be a part of the family.”