Zip 'Em Up Falls Short in Round One of TBT
Zip 'Em up, the Xavier Men's Basketball Alumni Team took the floor at the University of Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena on Friday Night, but unlike the history many of those players have had on that particular floor, things did not go their way this time.
In Dee Davis's Head Coaching debut, the former Musketeer Guard mentioned that they had just a few days to scout a team that had been playing together for nine months. Although the game did not go their way, the players showed a lot of gratitude for being able to play together again and represent Xavier.
Former Iona Guard AJ English proved a bit too much for Zip 'Em up as he scored 33 points on 12-23 shooting and was 8-14 from the perimeter including an early 11-0 run by himself in the first quarter extending Takeover's lead to as much as 11 points.
Zip 'Em Up was able to respond behind shooting from Nate Johnson who led the team in scoring with 24 points, and was 5-8 from three-point land showing the sharp shooting that made him a Musketeer favorite during his time playing at the Cintas Center.
Trevon Bluiett, the recently announced jersey number retiree showed some of his scoring ability as well knocking down two threes in the first half to get the team back in the game, cutting the deficit down to two points and eventually leading to a tied game at halftime.
Takeover ended up getting a grasp on the game and not letting go after the third quarter when they had a 28-14 advantage eventually putting the game out of reach, leading to their 91-75 victory when A.J. English hit a deep three to envoke the Elam Ending and end Zip 'Em Up's 2024 TBT run.
Other notes:
Zip 'Em Up started the game by giving up size to try and stretch the floor with Paul Scruggs, Trevon Bluiett, Adam Kunkel, Nate Johnson, and James Farr. The group wasn't able to get a lot of stops defensively, which put them behind the eight ball early on in the matchup.
Now, the Xavier alumni will regroup, look for ways to improve, and try and get ready for a 2025 run.