TBT.com
JHX Hoops (Kansas Alumni) completed an impressive road comeback Friday night, defeating Purple Reign (Kansas State Alumni) 62-55 in a winner-take-all Game 3 at Bramlage Coliseum to claim the best-of-three first-round series and advance to the Alumni Semifinals.
After dropping Game 1 in Manhattan, JHX Hoops answered with a comeback victory in Game 2 before returning to Kansas State’s home floor and overcoming another second-half deficit to win the Sunflower Showdown series.
Purple Reign came out firing in front of its home crowd, opening the game on a 12-0 run behind Michael Beasley, who scored seven early points and dominated the defensive end with six first-half blocks. Despite the slow start, Kansas gradually settled into the game, closing the gap throughout the second quarter before heading into halftime trailing just 26-24.
The second half featured seven lead changes as neither team was able to pull away. Purple Reign maintained a slim advantage for much of the final two quarters and entered the Elam Ending leading 53-49 with the Target Score set at 62. JHX Hoops responded with a 13-2 finish, and for the second consecutive game, Frank Mason III delivered the decisive basket, knocking down the game-winner to send Kansas into the Alumni Semifinals.
Zeke Mayo led JHX Hoops with a game-high 25 points, knocking down four three-pointers while going a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Jacob Hanna added 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Frank Mason III contributed nine points, six rebounds and three steals, including the game-winning basket.
Purple Reign was led by Michael Beasley’s 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, while Austin Trice recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Brandon Childress added 11 points and five assists, but Kansas State shot just 31.6% from the field and 4-for-27 from three-point range in the loss.
With the victory, JHX Hoops advances to Monday night’s Alumni Semifinal, where it will face the winner of the AfterShocks (Wichita State Alumni) and The Enchantment (New Mexico Alumni) series at 8:00 p.m. CT on FS1. If The Enchantment advances, Kansas will host the semifinal at Lee Arena on the campus of Washburn University. If the AfterShocks advance, JHX Hoops will travel to Wichita for the semifinal.