Overseas Elite holds off upset minded Armored Athlete in TBT Round of 16

Overseas Elite defeated Armored Athlete in their opening game of the TBT on Thursday.

The No. 2 seed Overseas Elite defeated the No.15 seed Armored Athlete 76-70 in the Round of 16 of The Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday.

Former Sacramento Kings guard Pooh Jeter led the way with 22 points for Overseas Elite.

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The four-time champions still have two former St. John’s basketball products in Justin Burrell and Paris Horne despite the announcement of DJ Kennedy opting out of the tournament shortly before Thursday’s game.

Horne did not appear in the victory as he continues to recover from an injury, but there is a chance that he will be able to play at some point in the tournament. The former Red Storm standout is currently serving as an Assistant Coach and General Manager of the team.

Burrell had two points, six rebounds, and a steal in 22 minutes. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet, his lone bucket came in crunch time just as Armored Athlete was attempting a late comeback bid pushing the score back to a two-possession game before Overseas Elite would eventually close out the win.

Burrell was one of the first players on Overseas Elite and has played a part in all four championships over the years.

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The Bronx native was a member of the Red Storm from 2007-2011 averaging 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 45.0 percent shooting during his four-year stint in Queens.

He was a part of the 2011 Red Storm team that took down five Top-10 teams en route to a 21-12 season making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over a decade.

Burrell was most recently playing for the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins in Japan.

Overseas Elite is the highest-ranked team left in the tournament after No. 1 seed Carmen’s Crew lost in a stunning upset to No. 16 House of ‘Paign on Wednesday as the Ohio State alumni team handed the champions its first loss ever in the TBT.

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Justin Burell, Paris Horne, and Overseas Elite will now take on No. 23 seed and massive underdog Herd That in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 2:00 pm EST on ESPN.

Herd That is comprised of Marshall University alumni and are both teams are three wins away from the winner-take-all $1 Million prize.