Jarrod West dribbles during the game between Best Virginia and DuBois Dream at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum and Convention Center in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Friday, July 18, 2025.
The crowd cheers when Best Virginia wins the game between Best Virginia and DuBois Dream at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum and Convention Center in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Friday, July 18, 2025.
Jarrod West dribbles during the game between Best Virginia and DuBois Dream at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum and Convention Center in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Friday, July 18, 2025.
There's an old saying that fits Friday's first round of The Basketball Tournament between Best Virginia and DuBois Dream.
"Lipstick on a pig, is still a pig."
Friday's contest between the WVU-based alumni team and a team comprised of Division II players at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum & Convention Center was ugly, with a hint of energy and passion.
The Dream went into the fourth quarter down 17 points, 62-45.
However, the sixth-seeded Dream fought back and outscored Best Virginia 15-2 before the Elam Ending.
Both Herd That and Best Virginia won their games in the TBT Tournament on Friday, July 18.Â
The Dream continued clawing its way back into the game and took a four-point lead after a Shane Hunter dunk, 69-65.
Yet, Best Virginia, with its back against the wall, didn't fret, as the WVU-based team responded with the final seven points of the game.Â
Toby Okani, who just finished college four months ago, pushed Best Virginia past DuBois Dream, 72-69, by making consecutive free throws to end it.
"That [was] a dogfight right there," Best Virginia coach Jarrod West Sr. said. "It's funny [because] living here and seeing the MEC and West Liberty, I knew it was going to be a dogfight. They're not going to give up or stop. It's a grind.
"To the credit of our team, adversity hit, down [four] in the Elam Ending, and our defense was very good. So, [tip] your hat to those guys."
DuBois Dream found itself down double digits throughout Friday's first-round contest, including the 17-point deficit to start the fourth.
The scrappy sixth seed, which had several former West Liberty players, put its full-court man-to-man pressure to work to rally.Â
It worked according to plan, as Best Virginia was forced into six turnovers in the fourth quarter.
The crowd cheers when Best Virginia wins the game between Best Virginia and DuBois Dream at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum and Convention Center in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Friday, July 18, 2025.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
"Our guys never gave up," DuBois Dream coach Michael Lamberti said. "It's something we preached at all three schools that the roster represented, from coach [Jim] Crutchfield [former West Liberty and current Nova Southeastern coach] preached to all of us, then that branches off the tree.
"I'm proud of how we fought. It shows the grind we had."
Best Virginia made one field goal in the fourth quarter before the Elam Ending, which came from James Reese with 4:18 left until the pause in time to align the target score.
Best Virginia hit some free throws during the Elam Ending, which allowed players to settle down, rather than the game being sped up and not going in its favor.
"Free throws [were] big," West said. "We had probably four or five opportunities. We get a rebound and a chance to go get a layup, and we turn them all over. Now, to their credit, they created the turnovers.
"But, if we take care of the ball and go get that layup, I'm not saying there's a knockout punch, but we had a couple of opportunities and didn't take advantage of it."
Best Virginia turned the ball over 25 times, including 16 in the second half, on Friday.
Most of those turnovers came in the back court, as Best Virginia struggled, at times, inbounding.
Lamberti saw a more sense of urgency from the Dream in the last 18 minutes.
"It was just that back-against-the-wall mentality," Lamberti said. "They saw the clock getting towards the end. They knew they could probably empty the tank a little bit more with it being down so much. We talked all week about playing like it's the last four minutes of the game, and you're down 10."
West credited the full-court pressure established by the Dream because it's hard to mimic as they were preparing during the week.
"We prepped as much as we could," West said. "That's tough for us to deal with, four or five days to get prepared for it. Honestly, until you see it and are in it, you can prepare for it as much as you can, but it comes down to spacing, [being] strong with the ball, good passes and attacking and punishing them for pressing."
A Jordan Hinds jumper with 3:56 left in the second quarter closed the Dream deficit to four, 29-25.
Yet Best Virginia closed the door on any kind of Dream momentum, closing the first half on a 10-0 run.
Okani and Reese sparked the final run to close the first 18 minutes, splitting the scoring with five points each.
Okani finished the first-round game with nine points, 11 rebounds and thee blocks in 25 minutes of action.
"He was big," West said. "Toby's a Band-Aid. He can play big, if you need him to. He's a matchup problem."
Reese and Okani finished the first-half with 23 of Best Virginia's 39 first-half points, with Reese leading all scorers with 16 points on 46% shooting.
"It's easy to play with [these] guys," said Reese, who finished with a team-high 21 points. "That just comes from [having] the same DNA as me. [That's] playing hard, being a dog and finding a way."
Best Virginia's Kedrian Johnson also had a strong all-around game as he finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Three players finished in double figures for DuBois Dream on Friday, with former West Liberty guard Christian Montague leading the charge with 17 points.
Ryker Cisarik recorded 16 points and seven rebounds, while Dalton Bolon tallied 14 points and six assists.
The teams combined for 42 turnovers and shot a combined 51 of 134 (38%) from the floor and 16 of 49 (33%) from 3-point range.
BEST VIRGINIA 14 25 23 2 8 -- 72
DUBOIS DREAM 12 13 20 15 9 -- 69
BV: Reese 21, Mitchell 13, Johnson 10, Okani 9, Sanders 6, West 5, Harris 5, Vorhees 3.
