Mass Street blew a seven-point lead during the Elam ending to fall to Team Colorado 84-81 in the third round of TBT. Mass Street came back after a slow first half with a red-hot third quarter but ran out of gas late.
"We had some good looks but the ball was stationary, it didn't really move," Frank Mason III said. "I started to feel something in my groin towards the end of the third quarter so I kinda let my foot off the gas. Just kinda being cautious and not trying to get a serious injury."
Mason III led the way for Mass Street with 25 points. The 2017 Wooden Award winner propelled the offense while shooting 9-for-16 from the floor. Dedric Lawson added 16 points and 10 rebounds while LaGerald Vick made 3 threes.
"It was a lot of fun," Mason III said. "It was an exciting weekend for me and I'm happy to be back in Kansas."
Andre Roberson tallied a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. The former Oklahoma City Thunder played lockdown defense as well, neutralizing Billy Preston in the first half with 3 blocks. D’Shawn Schwartz led Team Colorado with 21 points, including the game-winner.
First quarter
Mass Street got off to an ice-cold start as Team Colorado got out to an early 8-0 lead. Team Colorado played lockdown defense with 3 early blocks as Mass Street missed its first 7 shots from the floor, calling a timeout after a transition dunk from Michael Holyfield.
LaGerald Vick broke the five-minute scoring drought with a long 2 but Mass Street struggled to cut into the lead. Mass Street drew close after Mason III started to get going, knocking down a tough and-one jumper to cut the Team Colorado lead to 15-13.
Team Colorado extended its lead to 23-15 at the end of the first quarter following eight straight points from D’Shawn Schwartz including 2 triples. Colorado held Mass Street to just 31% shooting in the first 10 minutes of action, as Mass Street missed all 5 of its threes.
Second quarter
Mason III continued to propel the offense as Mass Street attempted to cut into the lead. He started the quarter with a three and drove to the basket for a layup. However, Mass Street struggled to get stops as Roberson and Adams got hot with a pair of baskets each.
Sam Cunliffe caught fire with 7 straight points for Mass Street to cut the lead to 38-34. The Mass Street-favored crowd started to get loud at Charles Koch Arena going into the media timeout with 2:45 to play in the half.
Team Colorado bounced back with a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 45-34. Roberson scored five as Team Colorado took a commanding 47-39 lead into the half.
Mason led all scorers with 14 while Adams led Team Colorado with 13. Mass Street struggled on the defensive end, as Team Colorado shot 63% from the floor and 50% from downtown.
Third quarter
Mass Street scored five quick points to start the second half, with a Vick three cutting the lead to 47-44 and forcing Team Colorado to call a timeout.
Cunliffe grew the Mass Street run to 11-2 after knocking down a three, but Schwartz knocked down a second-chance three to keep Team Colorado in front. Vick knocked down another triple to make the score 52-50.
Mass Street took its first lead after a clutch three from Mason III, who started fighting through a groin injury early in the quarter. Vick’s hot third corner continued, knocking down a transition three from the corner to force a Team Colorado timeout with Mass Street leading 56-54 at the 2:38 mark.
The two teams fought back and forth for the last two minutes of the quarter before Mass Street went on a late run. Billy Preston nailed a three at the horn to give Mass Street a 68-61 lead heading into the fourth. Mass Street made all 7 of its threes in the third.
Fourth quarter
Mass Street continued to hold its lead early in the fourth, with Mason III knocking down a tough three in the corner as the shot clock expired. Lawson knocked down a triple to give Mass Street an 11-point lead at 76-65.
Mass Street held a 76-69 lead heading into the Elam ending, with the target score set at 84.
Team Colorado scored five straight to start the Elam ending to draw the game close before Preston threw down a huge dunk to give Mass Street a 78-74 lead. Team Colorado came right back as Adams scored 6 straight to put Team Colorado ahead, 80-78.
Mason III was fouled while shooting a three and knocked down his free throws to give Mass Street an 81-80 lead. Adams responded with two free throws of his own, putting Team Colorado two points from the win at 82-81.
Schwartz gave Team Colorado the 84-81 win with the floater. Mass Street’s run ended in the third round for the second consecutive year.
