Ryan Luther drove inside for a layup to cap Herd That's comeback upset win over Nick Johnson and The Money Team 102-99 on Thursday in The Basketball Tournament round of 16 game in Columbus, Ohio.
Herd That trailed 40-22 at the end of the first quarter and 93-86 entering the Elam Ending, in which the clock is turned off after the first deadball inside the final four minutes and a target score of eight points more than the leading team's score is set.
That put 101 as the target score and Herd That chipped away, with Luther scoring inside to cut it to 99-93 before The Money Team later had a chance to win it when Devin Williams shot two free throws with TMT up 99-99.
However, Williams missed both free throws and TMT's Bryce Alford later attempted a 3-pointer when he stepped out of bounds, leaving Luther able to win the game by beating former UCLA center Thomas Welsh and driving to the right of the basket, making the layup and falling out of bounds.
"We run a million pick and rolls and a lot of actions to try to mess the defense up, and what we did there was we saw that they had a seven footer on Ryan," Herd That's Jon Elmore said. "Ryan's a guy that can move, he's really athletic, so he came up, set the ball screen and their big was a step late getting back to them so Ryan made a heck of a finish.
"But that's just credit to our offense and credit to the unselfishness and selflessness of our guys just making winning plays."
Despite only having two days of practice together, The Money Team bolted out to a 40-22 lead by the end of the first quarter although Herd That, a collection of mostly former Marshall players, pulled back within three points thanks largely to better defense in the second quarter.
Luther finished with nine points and six rebounds while Johnson had six assists for The Money Team but was scoreless with 0-for-4 shooting.
Herd That will face the winner Overseas Elite on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the quarterfinals. A perennial TBT power that once featured former Wildcat guard Kyle Fogg, who is now playing in China, Overseas Elite beat Armored Athlete 76-70 on Thursday.
The TBT semifinals are scheduled for July 12 and finals on July 14.
