Red Scare Struggles in the Elam Ending

This afternoon, TBT began its quarterfinal round. In the second game of the day, #8 Red Scare (Dayton alumni) faced off against #16 House of 'Paign (Illinois alumni). House of 'Paign was just very sloppy throughout the entire game and couldn't get star forward, Mike Daum (not an Illinois alum but rather a South Dakota St. alum) going. Heading into the Elam ending, Red Scare led by 19 points (74-55) so the first team to reach 82 would win the game. The teams traded a couple buckets at the start and the score was 80-61; Red Scare needed just one more bucket to win. House of 'Paign would go on a 13-0 run to make it 80-74. Finally, Red Scare got a shooting foul and had a opportunity to win but missed the second free throw making it only 81-74. House of 'Paign made the score 81-76 before falling at a final score of 83-76. Red Scare scored their final basket by leaking out when a shot for House of 'Paign went up to lead to a fast break dunk. If Red Scare was forced to score in their half court offense, this game might still be going on. House of 'Paign had so many opportunities. Between 81-76 and 83-76 each team had at least three possessions. I don't know why the Elam ending has caused so much trouble for these teams. Luckily, Red Scare didn't actually blow the game like The Money Team did yesterday but man were they close. It would've have been the biggest Elam Ending comeback in TBT history if House of 'Paign was able to pull it off. The concept of winning on a made shot and not letting the time just run out is a good idea, but I could never see this happening in the NBA. However, it will always be part of TBT. Moral of the stroy: don't count the trailing team out until the final basket goes in.