Winning every game in a 64-team tournament isn’t easy, even if over the past two years, the UConn men’s basketball team might have made the task of winning look like child’s play. After all, coach Dan Hurley meticulously orchestrated one of the most dominant pairs of tournament runs in the sport’s history.
Unfortunately for Husky fans, this isn’t the NCAA tournament and Dan Hurley isn’t around to coach. The Stars of Storrs, a team fielded of UConn alumni, began their quest in the TBT (The Basketball Tournament) on Saturday. And they made it look about as easy as Hurley’s teams did, dismantling Herkimer Originals, 85-52.
Monday was a completely different story. What was a small first quarter lead developed into a disastrous second, with the effort in the final half not providing enough juice to come back. Storrs ultimately lost to the Happy Valley Hoopers (Penn State Alumni) 94-83, but they had a good fight through the end, even as the deficit seemed impossible.
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The Stars were barely outshot by Happy Valley from the field and notched identical rebounding numbers, but the ultimate nail in the coffin was three point shooting. The Hoopers hit on 43% and drilled six more threes than the UConn alumni, largely explaining the difference on the scoreboard. They couldn’t miss at all the right times and they were rewarded with the victory.
Seth Maxwell, of Indiana Wesleyan, got the scoring started for the Stars with a handful of buckets, accounting for the team’s first six points. Happy Valley kept pace, as 2014 champion Ryan Boatright nailed a triple to regain the lead.
Neither team garnered much separation as the quarter got older and scoring became difficult to come by. A wild floater by late 2000s Connecticut star Jerome Dyson somehow found its way into the hoop to help improve the Huskies’ cushion to four, but that’s where things began to crumble.
Izaiah Brockington's trey gave the Hoopers the lead heading out of the first frame, and things only got worse from there. A 22-21 advantage became a 35-22 deficit and buckets were increasingly difficult to come by.
Former Clemson standout Elijah Thomas stopped the bleeding momentarily with a layup and RJ Cole added a one of his own, but nothing else went right. Turnovers were a problem and the easy shots became impossible. The hole grew to 20, and by the time the half came, the Husky Alumni were 18 down.
Cole was one of the few bright spots on the team, finishing the evening with 17 points and 6 boards on 7-10 shooting on 2-2 from deep. He was one of the key players dealing punches all games, keeping the Stars afloat. His energy made him a fan favorite during his two years under Hurley and kept him in good favor through the weekend.
Greg Lee and Myeron Jones’ trio of threes did not help Storrs' cause. At this point, The Stars weren’t in position to come back–they were doing their best to even stay in the game. Boatright did everything in his power to shoulder the load for his team, hitting three straight from downtown.
Boatright had a day to remember, even though his squad wasn’t able to pull it out. He had an explosive second half that saw him tally 14 of his 20 points, including four threes. Boatright also racked up 7 assists, pouring in an honest overall effort.
The guard’s onslaught helped cut things to 14, but the Penn State Alumni couldn’t miss. Even as the scoring picked up, the Stars found themselves further behind than when they started the quarter.
Cole and Boatright again tried to gain some momentum with dual threes, but scoring was an issue from there. They headed into the Elam Ending behind by 16 still, having to outscore Happy Valley 24-7 in order to win.
For those unfamiliar, the Elam Ending is designed to reduce the slow and frustrating part of basketball games towards the end. It establishes a “target score” at the under-4 media timeout, which is decided by adding 8 points to the leading team’s total. The first team to hit that score wins the game. This way, a losing team isn’t fighting against the clock, but against the other team scoring, disincentivizing late-game fouling.
Rodney Purvis and former Baylor Bear Terry Maston got four quick points, but the energy deflated after a Greg Lee triple. Maston earned a tough bucket and Cole nailed a three, cutting the deficit to just eight. A Jones three and another one from Lee ended the game though, closing out the Stars’ run.
Maston’s 7-11 shooting helped him get to 15 points, but it wasn’t enough to carry his Husky teammates to the Regional Final. He, Thomas and Maxwell were among the top five scorers, demonstrating the profound impact non-Husky alums had on the Huskies’ performance.
Though they exited after just two games, the first year of the Stars of Storrs experiment should be considered a success. They recruited well and drew a lot of excitement around the games, which is exactly the goal of something like this.
With the knowledge of what went right and what didn’t, founder Marc D’Amelio can head into the fall knowing exactly what he needs to do. But win or loss, they brought eyes to UConn basketball during July, which has been appreciated by fans.
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