The Forever coogs take a group picture after making it to the quarterfinals.|Raphael Fernandez/ The Cougar
In their first season together, Forever Coogs triumphed over Team Challenge ALS to clinch a spot in The Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals.
The Houston alumni team leveraged their home-court advantage, out-rebounding their opponents 37-28 and sealed the win with two clutch free throws by Melvin Frazier during a decisive 14-3 run to close the game.
TBT is an annual summer competition in the U.S. featuring an open-invitation, single-elimination format with a cash prize at stake. Since the beginning, the number of teams participating fluctuated but in recent years, it has settled at 64.
This year’s tournament began on July 19, featuring alumni teams from all over. Forever Coogs first matchup was against Austin’s Team and the Forever Coogs took the win home with a score of 71-60. Rob Gray led the team in scoring with a total of 21 points, followed by Wesley Van with 13 points and six rebounds.
Advancing to the quarterfinals, the Forever Coogs continued their undefeated run by defeating Challenge ALS 75-70. Despite being down the first half of the game, they quickly turned around to secure a 3-0 record.
Gray was the led the scoring with 23 points, going 3-7 from the three-point line, Justin Gorham with 12 points and six rebounds and Frazier with 11 points and eight rebounds leading the Coogs to their third victory in the tournament.
On Aug. 4, the Forever Coogs took a run in the final game against Carmen’s Crew, who held a 1-2 record.
The game started with Tashawn Thomas sinking a jump shot for the Coogs, but Carmen’s Crew quickly responded. In the final five minutes, the Coogs kept the game tight, trailing by just six points.
However, Carmen’s Crew ultimately took control in overtime, edging out the Coogs by two points.
Throughout the tournament, the Coogs averaged 73.3 points per game, shot 24.8% from three-point range, 77.7% from the free-throw line and recorded a 41.8% rebounding rate across their six games.
