Don Carey caught the rebound and passed to Darryl Morsell, who had already started for the other end of the court. Morsell spun to the glass for an 8-footer, ending the game and bringing his team one step closer to a million dollars. 

Former Maryland Terrapins faced off against former Florida Gators on Tuesday in the first round of the Louisville Regional, a division of The Basketball Tournament. The tournament, composed of 64 teams featuring collegiate alumni and NBA players, awards a grand prize of $1 million to the champions. 

“Shell Shock” defeated “Gataverse” 77-74, advancing to the next round.

Starting for Shell Shock were Darryl Morsell (‘21), L.G. Gill (‘17), Damonte Dodd (‘17), Don Carey (‘23) and Xavier Green (‘22).

Shell Shock started the first quarter dominantly with a streak of buckets from Morsell, Green and Maurice Creek. 

A graduate of George Washington University, Creek made an immediate impact off the bench, leading the team with eight points and three rebounds at the end of the first.

Shell Shock led Gataverse heading into the second quarter, 21-12.

Starting the next period with a seven-point run, Shell Shock extended its lead to 16 in just over two minutes of play. 

But with five minutes left in the half, Gataverse managed a 10-0 run primarily from the efforts of Corey Brewer (5), bringing the game within six points as Shell Shock hit a scoring drought.

Brewer finished the half as the highest scorer in the game with 13 points, but Shell Shock narrowly maintained its lead over Gataverse, 39-34. 

Leading scorers for the former Terps were Creek (eight points), Morsell (eight points) and Green (six points). Behind Brewer for Gataverse were Noah Locke (eight points) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (seven points).

A jumper from Kevin Samuel followed by five quick points from CJ Williams forced a timeout from Gataverse just a minute and a half into the third quarter. After the timeout, Brewer brought the score closer with five unanswered points to respond.

Another Shell Shock scoring drought allowed Gataverse the chance to pull ahead, starting with a layup from Fleming Jr. to tie. A jumper from Locke on the next possession gave Florida its first lead of the game. Gataverse remained on top as time expired, 58-57. 

Darryl Morsell knocked down a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter, putting Shell Shock back in the lead once again. Both teams maintained a neck-and-neck game afterward, not allowing each other’s leads to exceed more than two points.

TBT’s elam ending rules caused the first team to reach 77 points to win the game. Gataverse called its final timeout trailing Shell Shock 74-75, hoping to end the game on that possession.

Struggling to pull off a three-point shot, Fleming Jr. finally made the attempt as Gataverse’s shot clock neared zero. Don Carey caught the rebound, sending the ball to Morsell who won the game for Shell Shock with a jumper.