The Tournament file photo

We Are D3 had a solid start and a two-point halftime lead but it was not enough, and Division III’s entrants fell to three-seed Team Challenge ALS, 67-60, in the first round of The Basketball Tournament.

This is the third year in The Tournament for We Are D3, the brainchild of former SUNY New Paltz head coach Mike Rejniak, comprised of Division III men's basketball alumni who are playing professionally overseas. And after nearly upsetting Boeheim's Army, a team of Syracuse alumni, in Syracuse, New York, in 2019, We Are D3 again pushed a higher-seeded team comprised mostly of Division I alums including some former NBA players.

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After a slow start for both teams, We Are D3 went on an 8-0 run capped by a three-point play from Washington U. alum DeVaughn Rucker that put them ahead 11-5. Team Challenge ALS answered with a 7-0 run before Western Connecticut State All-American DaQuan Brooks hit a three-pointer that staked We Are D3 to a 16-12 lead at the end of one period.

In the second quarter, Brooks and Gordon College All-American Eric Demers combined for 11 points, including a jumper from Brooks that sent We Are D3 into the locker room with a 32-30 halftime lead. We Are D3 finished the first half with six of its 11 made field goals coming from three.

We Are D3 had a chance to expand its lead early in the second half but missed four layups in the opening minute. The teams traded leads throughout the third period with Demers' three-pointer giving We Are D3 its final lead at 41-40. Team Challenge ALS answered with 6-0 run keyed by Marvelle Harris’ driving layup.

We Are D3 had a chance to tie the game at 48 in the final minute of the third period when Demers stole the ball from former Dallas Maverick Justin Dentmon. Demers raced down the floor for a would-be game-tying layup and appeared to be fouled on his shot attempt, but there was no call and the ball went out of bounds off Demers. On the ensuing position, Harris hit an off-balance runner with one second left to push the Team Challenge ALS lead to 50-46 entering the final period.

We Are D3 hung close in the early minutes of that period with Brooks and Demers continuing to shoulder the load offensively. Brooks hit a pull-up jumper in the opening minute and then Demers hit another three to cut the deficit to 52-51.

Team Challenge ALS scored six of the next seven points and had a 58-52 lead and the ball with under four minutes to play. They called a timeout that set the mark so that the first team to score 66 points would win under The Basketball Tournament's Elam Ending rule.

Team Challenge ALS scored the next five points and led 63-52 before We Are D3 answered with one final flurry. Ripon All-American Ty Sabin converted a twisting layup that led to a three-point play, Rucker hit a jump shot and Demers added one more three to cut the deficit to 65-60.

It looked like We Are D3 might get even closer and set up a one-possession game, but Brooks’ fast break pass was intercepted and Team Challenge ALS scored the winning basket on its ensuing position with a tip-in by DeShawn Stevens.

Demers led all scorers with 25 points including seven 3-pointers while Brooks added 17 points and five assists. While Demers and Brooks shot 12 for 26, the rest of We Are D3 went just 7 for 29.

We are D3 also struggled inside against a team of former Division I players with much more size. Team Challenge ALS outrebounded We Are D3 52-30, outscored them 48-14 in the paint and had a 20-5 advantage in second-chance points, including the game winner.

Marvelle Harris, who was the Mountain West Player of the Year at Fresno State in 2016, led Team Challenge ALS with 21 points in 31 minutes. Mount Union guard D’Vontay Friga, who also plays for Team Challenge ALS, went 0-for-1 in eight minutes.

There are three D3hoops.com Players of the Year in the TBT, but none are on the We Are D3 team. Jeff Gibbs is once again playing for 2019 champs, Carmen's Crew. Nate West is playing for the Murray State Alumni team (the Overlooked), and University of Rochester's John DiBartolomeo is playing for Aaron Toomey and Matt Goldsmith on The Nerd Team (along with TCNJ's Randy Walko and Amherst's Willy Workman). Jordan Dehm of Peoria All-Stars played at Eureka.

To hear more about the We Are D3 story, check out The Q-Cast's conversation with Mike Rejniak:

The D-III roster features the following:

Head coach: Mike Rejniak
Assistant coaches: Matt Droney, Joshua Nunn