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Your favorite team of Marquette men’s basketball alumni are back in action on Saturday night as they attempt to advance to the final four in the 2016 edition of The Basketball Tournament. The Golden Eagles Alumni are seeded sixth in the Midwest, and they’ll be squaring off with the 9th seeded team, Always A Brave. Let’s get to the details on the game!
#6 Golden Eagles Alumni vs #9 Always A Brave
When: Saturday, July 23, 2016, at 7pm Central
Where: Gallagher Center at Philadelphia University in Philadelphia, PA
Audio/Visual: ESPN2 has the television broadcast, while WatchESPN has the video streaming.
Twitter Updates: @thetournament, @GoldenEaglesTBT, & @OnceABrave
GEA vs AAB will the the fourth and final quarterfinal game of the day, because as you already know, you always leave the main event, the icon, the showstopper for last. The whole day kicks off on ESPN2 at 11am Central, and here’s the schedule for the day.
11am: Northeast Final - #1 City Of Gods vs #3 The Untouchables (ESPN2)
1pm: South Final - #2 Overseas Elite vs #8 Trained To Go (ESPNU)
5pm: West Final - #5 Team Colorado vs #7 Team Utah (ESPNU)
7pm: Midwest Final - #6 Golden Eagles Alumni vs #9 Always A Brave (ESPN2)
Let’s circle back to the game involving your favorite bunch of Golden Eagles. Here’s the listed roster for GEA:
- Maurice Acker
- Dwight Burke
- Dwight Buycks
- Joe Chapman
- Davante Gardner
- Marcus Jackson
- Darius Johnson-Odom
- Trent Lockett
- Jerel McNeal
- Jamil Wilson
- Derrick Wilson
Davante Gardner made his TBT debut last night and, unsurprisingly, immediately did a bunch of Davante things. He scored a bunch through contact, he snagged rebounds, he dished a few #OxAssists, and even came up with three blocks. Dwight Buycks continued his run atop the scoresheet for MU with 23 points to lead the way to victory against Armored Athlete on Friday. Trent Lockett’s listed on the roster, but he’s yet to make an appearance.
On the other side of the court is Always A Brave, a team composed of former Bradley University players. None of these guys played for current head coach (and former Marquette star) Brian Wardle, but it’s still kind of fun to think of them as the Fightin’ Wardles Alumni. Here’s the roster:
- Tony Bennett
- Jeremy Crouch
- Will Franklin
- Philip Gilbert
- Walt Lemon
- Sam Maniscalco
- Patrick O’Bryant
- Daniel Ruffin
- Matt Salley
- Marcellus Sommerville
- Andrew Warren
Six of the guys on this roster - Bennett, Crouch, Franklin, O’Bryant, Ruffin, and Sommerville - were playing for Bradley when the Braves made a run to the Sweet 16 in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. It was the first Sweet 16 for Bradley in 51 years, and if you think that doesn’t forge a bond between teammates, well, you’re probably not as big of a sports fan as you originally thought.
O’Bryant is the key figure, as he ended up being taken #9 overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 2006 NBA Draft. He ended up playing in 90 career games between Golden State, Boston, and Toronto. All five starters scored in double figures in their 92-65 quarterfinal win last night over Pedro’s Posse, a team that featured long time NBA point guards Mike Bibby and Jason Williams. Sommerville led the quintet of scorers with 28 in that game, and he grabbed 11 rebounds and dished four assists, too.