The second time around, We Are D3 brought a team full of current pro players to The Basketball Tournament. And it was nearly enough to pull off the upset, as No. 8 seed We Are D3 fell 68-65 to the Sons of Boeheim, a team of Syracuse alumni.
Cal Lutheran alumnus Arik Smith scored a team-high 20 points, 12 of them in the first quarter, while Amherst alum Johnny McCarthy added 17 for the team of Division III alumni.
The game was played at Onondaga Community College, in Syracuse, New York.
Team D3 set the tone early, as McCarthy drained a 3-pointer from the corner to give the underdogs a 9-4 lead. The team led 26-15 at the end of the first quarter, part of a first half in which the team shot 14-for-28 from the floor and 5-for-9 from 3-point range.
D3 trailed 60-56 when the Elam Ending went into effect, setting the final target score at 68 points. From that point, D3 cut the lead to two before Boeheim's Army finished it off by making one of two free throws for the final margin.
