photo by: Justin Mohling/The Basketball Tournament

JHX Hoops' Cliff Alexander shoots a free throw during the game against OffDaHook on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City, Mo. — The Kansas-friendly crowd at Municipal Auditorium had an uneasy Saturday afternoon until JHX Hoops finally seized control in the late stages of its first-round matchup in The Basketball Tournament.

Kevin Young swiped the ball from OffDaHook’s Jaheam Cornwall, Lagerald Vick tossed a lob to Billy Preston for an alley-oop dunk and then Vick drained a deep 3 to put JHX ahead by double digits early in the fourth quarter and force a timeout by OffDaHook.

Exploiting their size advantage over the seventh-seeded New Yorkers, the KU alumni kept OffDaHook at arm’s length during the Elam Ending and, with Cliff Alexander putting in the final layup, sealed a 91-78 victory.

“It’s always hard to get the first one, man,” JHX Hoops coach Sherron Collins said. “It’s like getting the monkey off your back in a sense. You just want to get past that first round. It’s so much that (goes) into it and to lose that first one is hard.”

The KU alumni will move on to face their rivals, Purple Reign, at 8 p.m. on Monday. Purple Reign, a Kansas State alumni team that lost to JHX 78-72 in a scrimmage on Thursday, rallied from down 15 points and down nine within the Elam Ending to beat The Shine 85-84 on a game-winning 3-pointer by Shaun Williams.

“It always feels good to get over the hump and now I think we got the matchup everybody else wanted to see,” Collins said.

JHX Hoops was led on Saturday by its forwards, including Preston, who scored 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Backup center Marcus Bell, a recent addition to the team who played at five colleges, went 6-for-7 for 15 points, and Alexander put up a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double.

“It’s nothing new,” said Alexander, who played one season at KU before turning pro. “I’ve been doing this. Nothing new. Not trying to be cocky or anything, but it’s what I do.”

“Today was a matchup of the bigs,” Collins added. “We just had the inside matchup mismatch. Obviously we wanted our guards to get going some and see them make some shots, but it was just a big-man game and we had to play through them tonight.”

Guard Shane Gatling, who had been part of the Colorado alumni squad that knocked out the KU team last year, scored 26, including five 3s, for OffDaHook, which only had six players at its disposal. Elias Ezenekwe added 21 and Nazir Williams tallied 19, but the New York squad was nearly doubled up on the boards as JHX held a 44-24 rebounding advantage.

Gatling posted six early points, but 3-pointers by Zeke Mayo and Nick Timberlake and a pair of buckets inside by the backup center Bell created a 10-0 run, and the KU alumni maintained a comfortable lead through the first quarter.

OffDaHook scored three of the first four buckets to open the second quarter to make it a six-point game, before the early spark plug Cornwall cut it in half with a 3-pointer over Vick.

JHX struggled to build any additional distance to restore its previous margin. Vick knocked down a 3 from the right wing to briefly make it a seven-point game, but Ezenekwe and Williams combined for OffDaHook’s final eight points, including a leaning shot at the right block by Ezenekwe that cut the KU alumni’s lead to 41-38 at the break.

Mayo made a critical 3-pointer in transition on a well-placed pass from Vick to boost JHX’s lead to six points after Cornwall was off the mark on a floater.

Bell took advantage of OffDaHook in the paint for a layup, dunk and free throw all in a row late in the third quarter. With Bell headed to the bench for a breather, Preston then converted one of two free throws and Young tipped in the second to match JHX’s largest lead of the game at 11 points.

OffDaHook promptly put in six straight, and after Preston went to the line again, an acrobatic reverse layup by Gatling made it 67-62 entering the fourth quarter.

Gatling then pulled up against Preston for a 3-pointer that gave him 20 points on the day. But then came the pivotal sequence, led by Vick, in which JHX went back up double digits.

Bell chipped in another solo run of five straight, but Jamari Traylor missed a transition dunk that could have made it a 16-point margin and instead Ezenekwe hit a 3 ahead of the Elam Ending, which JHX entered ahead 83-72.

After a couple of free throws, Preston connected on a 3-pointer late in the shot clock.

“The dude’s a pro,” Collins said of Preston. “He’s a matchup problem. He brings so much to us from every aspect. Rebounding, scoring, he’s just a problem, a big problem. I just tell Billy, ‘Go be a problem.'”

OffDaHook immediately turned the ball over, but back-to-back 3s by Gatling gave his team a sliver of a chance as the KU alumni struggled to reach the target score of 91.

However, Alexander made a free throw and then went in for a strong layup to end the game and clinch the rivalry matchup on Monday night.

photo by: Justin Mohling/The Basketball Tournament

JHX Hoops’ Zeke Mayo dribbles against OffDaHook’s Jaheam Cornwall on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.

photo by: Justin Mohling/The Basketball Tournament

JHX Hoops’ Zeke Mayo shoots against OffDaHook’s Jaheam Cornwall on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.

photo by: Justin Mohling/The Basketball Tournament

JHX Hoops’ Jacob Hanna attempts a leaning shot during the game against OffDaHook on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.

photo by: Justin Mohling/The Basketball Tournament

JHX Hoops’ Billy Preston looks to make a pass against OffDaHook on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.

photo by: Justin Mohling/The Basketball Tournament

JHX Hoops’ Billy Preston heads toward the hoop during the game against OffDaHook on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.

photo by: Justin Mohling/The Basketball Tournament

OffDaHook’s DJ Rivera dribbles against JHX Hoops’ Cliff Alexander on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.