Tuesday sports: Hustle comeback falls short in one-point loss to Blue
Prep basketball teams continue holiday tournament play
Photo: Colin Castleton of the Memphis Hustle (right) jumps at center against Noah Starkey of the OKC Blue to start the game on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at the Landers Center. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
Nov 26, 2024-A last-second shot from Lucas Williamson rimmed off and with it the Memphis Hustle dropped a 109-108 NBA G League Tip Off Tournament game to the OKC Blue Tuesday night at the Landers Center.
With the loss, the Hustle fell to 3-5 for the season, while the Blue, the G League affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder, improved to 6-1. It was the second meeting between the teams this season, with OKC also winning the first time they met, and also at the Landers Center, 132-121, on Nov. 15.
Colin Castleton led the Hustle’s offense with a 24-point night, followed by Williamson with 21. Miles Norris and Cam Spencer, a two-way player on the floor with the Hustle for the first time, each contributed 16.
Spencer, who played collegiately with UCONN, had been nursing ankle injuries, but said he felt good playing for the first time.
“It was just a joy to play basketball and be out there for 30 minutes, it felt great,” Spencer said. “The guys made it really easy for me.”
“He’s just somebody who’s just all about basketball all the time,” Hustle coach T.C.Swirsky said about Spencer.
Five Memphis players were in double figures, while seven of the Blue’s eight players that dressed for the game, scored 12 points or more. OKC was led by Jevonte Cooke, who came off the bench to hit for 24 points.
The Hustle opened the game with a 35-23 lead after one quarter, with Castleton leading the offense with 8 points. However, the Blue held Memphis to just 11 points in the entire second quarter to take a 62-46 lead into the locker room at halftime. Castleton was held to just two points in the second frame while Cameron Brown paced OKC with 14 points in the half.
OKC led by as much as 19 points in the third quarter but the Hustle started to creep back into the contest and trailed by 14 at quarter’s end, 90-74.
However, the comeback in the fourth quarter had Memphis outscoring the Blue 32-19, coming up just one point short at the final whistle.
“I think our communication picked up defensively,” Swirsky said about the fourth quarter response. “We did a better job of having more urgency in what we were doing, so that led to more stops and we made a push.”
Spencer hit a deep three to get Memphis within 90-84 with 10:25 remaining. The Hustle then outscored OKC 10-4 to tie the contest at 94-94 with 7:14 remaining. However, the Blue quickly retook the lead at 97-94 with a responding three-pointer.
Hustle guard Yuki Kawamura tied the game again, this time at 104, thanks to a free throw with 2:04 left, followed by Castleton hitting a pair of charity tosses for a 106-105 Hustle advantage with 1:46 remaining in the game.
Kawamura was again fouled and made two free throws with 31.9 seconds left for a 108-107 lead, but OKC retook the lead at 109-108 when Brown was fouled and sank both free throws.
That set up the final play where the ball was kicked out to Williamson, whose three-point attempt from the wing rimmed off to give OKC the victory.
‘We have multiple options out of that play right there,” Swirsky said about the final play of the game. “I would love Lucas to take that shot, because we trust him to make that shot. It didn’t go in this time but I got all of the confidence that he’d make it the next time.”
Memphis hopes to rebound when they travel to Birmingham, Ala. to face the Squadron. The Hustle returns to the Landers Center on Monday, Dec. 2 for a rematch with Birmingham at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Prep boys basketball
- Holmes County Central 44, Horn Lake 41
- Lewisburg 41, West Harrison 34
- Lake Cormorant 67, Independence 61
- Jackson Prep 58, DeSoto Central 46
Prep girls basketball
- Booneville 49, Horn Lake 22
- West Harrison 48, Lewisburg 29
- Southaven 46, Tunica Academy 14
- Link Academy, Mo. 59, Center Hill 49
- Center Hill: Madison Hughes-25, Kennedy Hulbert-17
- South Pontotoc 57, Hernando 53
- Hernando: Fran Kelly-31
- Independence 38, Lake Cormorant 21
- DeSoto Central 43, J. Z. George 17
