Red Scare on wrong side of ‘biggest upset in TBT history’

The players were a small part of a crowd of 3,281, most of whom expected to return for the second round Friday and hoped to stick around all weekend.

The Flyers don’t lose often on their home court. The Red Scare made the most of the same advantage last year, winning four games before losing in the semifinals. They also had never lost in the first round in four previous appearances.

That all changed Wednesday because of No. 8 seed India Rising, the most unique of the 64 teams in the TBT, a team full of players from India or with ties to the country. It recorded what the official TBT Twitter account called the “biggest upset in TBT history” by beating the No. 1 seed Red Scare 77-67.

“They were inspired,” Red Scare coach Joey Gruden said. “They’re playing for their country and pride. They take it really serious as do we, but they just hit a ton of shots. We didn’t make our shots. That’s basketball. That’s why it’s fun. Usually, we’re on the other side.”

India Rising will play No. 4 seed Carmen’s Crew, the Ohio State alumni team, in the second round at 8 p.m. Friday at UD Arena. The first game, at 6 p.m. Friday features No. 6 Men of Mackey, a Purdue team, against No. 2 Friday Beers. Friday Beers beat No. 7 Athletics Miami 84-72.

Carmen’s Crew beat No. 5 Team Overtime 80-68 on Wednesday with Ohio State Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann watching from press row. Men of Mackey beat No. 3 Team Colorado 70-68.

The Red Scare is now 9-5 in five appearances. This was its most surprising loss by far.

India Rising made 13 of 29 3-pointers (44.8%). Tajinder Lall, who scored 26 points, and Kiran Shastri, each made four.

Lall made the game-winning Elam Ending shot, a jump shot from near the free-throw line in front of Red Scare guard Rodney Chatman. The India Rising players celebrated at halfcourt in front of a small group of their fans. The Red Scare players walked slowly to their locker room.

“I think they made shots early to get their confidence,” Red Scare guard Scoochie Smith. “and then we were trying too hard to make a comeback with every play. I think we played a little slow. We could have played faster. It would have definitely helped the crowd get into it a little more.”

Smith had 12 points and eight assists. Jordan Sibert led the team with 19 points and made 4 of 10 3-pointers. Rodney Chatman scored 11 points in his TBT debut.

The Red Scare got off to a good start. Ryan Mikesell scored seven of his 13 points in the first five minutes. They led 25-21 after one quarter.

India Rising pulled in front late in the second quarter and led 41-38 at halftime. Then they dominated the third quarter, building a 59-44 lead with a 16-2 run. Lall and Shastri each made two 3s during the run.

“It was very impressive what they did,” Davis said. “They competed for the whole game and made shots.”

The Red Scare couldn’t keep up with India Rising’s shooting, making 9 of 33 3-pointers (27.3%). They also lost the rebounding battle 40-24.

India Rising was just as effective inside the arc, making 15 of 27 2-point field-goal attempts.

The Red Scare found some hope by cutting the deficit to 59-50 entering the fourth quarter, but they trailed 68-58 when the Elam Ending began. The first team to score 76 would win. That proved to be too big a hole.

“It’s hard,” Gruden said. “It’s a one-game tournament. When you get down eight, 10 or 12, you try so hard to come back that sometimes you make silly mistakes just playing so hard, and then they made us pay. They hit their open shots, and then they were big and strong, too. We didn’t have our depth and our size like we normally do, but that’s no excuse either. They played better than us, and they made all their shots and congrats to them.”

Gruden has organized the team with former UD teammate Jeremiah Bonsu for the last five years. It’s never easy convincing enough players to sign up, and there are always last-minute changes to the roster. The Red Scare had four players on the original roster who didn’t end up on the final roster.

“Right now, at this moment, I thought they’d be devastated and not want to do it ever again,” Gruden said, “but they’re hungry to come back and get another run. They don’t want to go out like that. They don’t want that to be their last experience playing in this arena. So we’re going to try our hardest to keep it going. Hopefully, we get enough guys. We’re trying our hardest to get all alumni, not just from our era. We’re trying to bridge the gap and make this a fun summer for everyone.”

Davis, the only player who has been on the Red Scare roster all five years, also said the postgame discussion centered around trying to get more depth next year. He said everyone’s getting older — he’s 27 now — and that makes it tougher.

Davis and Smith are both undecided about where they’ll play next year. Smith was in Poland last year, and Davis was in Sweden.

Smith also put on a camp for kids with his brother Malachi, the junior Dayton point guard, while he was in Dayton.

“It was still fun to come here and kick it with the current players and coaches,” Smith said, “and help the community. The kids loved it. I brought some kids from my neighborhood. We enjoyed it and tried to cherish the moment. You wish you could stay a little longer, but things happen.”