LEXINGTON, Ky. — La Familia advances to the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament with a 95-66 win over the top seed in the Lexington Regional, Herd That.
The game started at a fast pace with each team answering the other. The former Wildcats were up 22-16 after shooting 55% from the field and holding Herd That to 32%. Nate Sestina leading the way with 8 points on 2-3 shooting behind the three point line. Andrew Harrison and Kerem Kanter added five each in the opening quarter.
In the second frame, the pace slowed a little more. La Familia took a ten point lead at 35-25 following a James Young three pointer. But, Herd That made a run to cut into that to six when Xavier Munford hit a lay-in. He had 18 first half points. Eric Bledsoe finished the half with a drive, pump fake and a lay-in of his own. The former Cats taking a 38-30 lead into the half. Kanter led the way at the break with 10 points, Bledsoe added 9 with Sestina chipping in with 8 and Andrew Harrison 6.
La Familia came out of the halftime like a team on a mission—especially Eric Bledsoe. They outscored Herd That 32-18 and raised their shooting percentage for the game to 51%. Bledsoe became the scoring leader with 19 and that included 6-7 shooting at the free throw line. Kanter added 16 while Sestina and Andrew Harrison added 11 each. It included a quarter where they hit five of their first six, three pointers and Willie Cauley-Stein hit one of them. La Familia took a 70-48 lead into the final quarter.
In the final quarter, La Familia took a 25 point lead into the Elam Ending. That means add 8 to their score of 85 to make it a target score of 93. First team to reach that is the winner. James Young ended it with a three pointer.
La Familia advances to Louisville to play in the quarterfinals. There's a chance they'll get the home team, The Ville if they are able to beat Team DRC on Wednesday night at 7:00 in Freedom Hall.
