After receiving a pass from Rick Jackson, Terrence Roberts fought his way between two defenders in the paint and threw down a dunk to give Boeheim’s Army a 63-60 lead.

As Roberts trotted back on defense, he dropped his hands below his waist and flexed both biceps.

Roberts’ slam sparked a crucial stretch in which top-seeded Boeheim’s Army went on a 9-4 run en route to the 78-72 win over No. 5 seed Liberty Ballers in the Super 17 of The Basketball Tournament in Chicago on Friday night. The team made up of mostly Syracuse alumni will take on No. 3 seed City of Gods on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Elite Eight.

Though Boeheim’s Army came away with the win, Liberty Ballers stuck around until the final seconds of the game. Every time a lead was built, a response was made.

With the game tied at 19 midway through the first half, Boeheim’s Army went on a 17-8 run featuring a pair of 3s from Mookie Jones and Willie Deane and an and-one from Roberts. On the other end, Reggie Redding missed an uncontested layup in transition and James Minor-Bell couldn’t finish an alley-oop.

But just before halftime, the Liberty Ballers scored five straight points to cut the lead to four at the break.

The Liberty Ballers even tied it up at 44 apiece but Boeheim’s Army again broke open a five-point lead with nine minutes left.

The two teams tied up twice more before Roberts threw down his dunk. But from that point on, Boeheim’s Army was able to extend its lead and stave off one last comeback attempt.

Hakim Warrick made three consecutive free throws to open up a six-point lead.

About two minutes later, Deane caught the ball in transition and nearly reset the offense. But after hesitating, he drove to the hoop and finished a righty layup to give Boeheim’s Army a 70-64 lead.

By the time the Liberty Ballers would cut it back to one possession, it was too late as they’d have to hope for missed free throws on the other end.

After Deane converted at the rim, he lifted his right arm and put his fist near his ear while flexing his arm muscles. Finally, Boeheim’s Army was able to finish a run the way it started.

Published on July 24, 2015 at 9:18 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds