The Ville Defeats Team DRC in TBT Regional Final

The Louisville men's basketball alumni team is now set to face the Kentucky alumni team with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line.

The Ville guard Chris Dowe / Jared Anderson - Louisville Report

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Squaring off against an upset-minded Team DRC squad, The Ville was able to avoid such a fate and extend their run in The Basketball Tournament, coming out on top with an 83-68 victory on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall.

The Louisville men's basketball alumni team claims TBT's Louisville Regional Championship as the No. 2 seed, and are now one of just eight remaining teams in the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all tournament. Last year in their inaugural TBT run, The Ville also made it to the regional final but were eliminated.

The victory also sets up a TBT version of the Louisville-Kentucky rivalry. The Ville is now in line to host the Kentucky men's basketball alumni team, La Familia, next Monday with a trip to TBT's "Final Four" on the line.

The Ville was led by a pair of 15-point performances from Russ Smith and David Johnson, with Montrezl Harrell and Chris Jones both adding 11 points as well. Team DRC, the eight seed in the Louisville Regional, were led by 19 points from former Louisiana Tech standout Amorie Archibald.

After some sluggish tendencies over their first two games, The Ville was red hot on the offensive end. They shot a blazing 60 percent from the field, and were 12-of-24 on three-point attempts. It helped counter a performance from Team DRC just allowed them to hang around for just long enough, as they shot 42.9 percent from the field but were 13-of-33 from downtown.

The primary difference in the game, even with the hot three-point shooting, was the play down low. The Ville out-rebounded Team DRC 32-to-25, and had 36 points in the paint to DRC's 16. It was a direct result of Chinanu Onuaku's return to the lineup, after he missed the previous game with an ankle injury. He finished with six points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Aside from an early 8-0 run from Team DRC and a couple turnovers that led to easy baskets, The Ville looked like the much more crisp team right out of the gates. They were able to connect on over half of their shots in the opening quarter (7-for-13), held DRC to under a third of theirs (5-for-16), and established dominance down low in the post early on.

Then in the second quarter, The Ville exploded in the opening minutes of the period, stringing together multiple quality possessions on both ends of the floor. They fired off a 22-2 run stretching back to midway through the first quarter, flipping a four-point deficit into a 16-point lead.

Team DRC was able to salvage some momentum in the final minutes of the first half, but not before The Ville took a 38-30 lead at halftime.

That slight cushion coming out of the locker room proved to be much needed, as both offenses exploded in the second half. The Ville went 15-of-20 from the field and 6-of-11 on three-point attempts in this half, while Team DRC was 13-for-22 and 6-for-14, respectively. The two teams combined for 73 points in the second half, 51 points in the third quarter alone, with the home squad holding onto a nine-point lead entering the Elam Ending.

But during this time, it was all The Ville. Nick Mayo opened up the final segment with a three, with Smith hitting a pair of free-throws after that. Following a layup for DRC's lone points of the Elam Ending, Jones drained a three of his own to clinch the win.

(Photo of Chris Dowe: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter