photo by: The Basketball Tournament

JHX Hoops guard Frank Mason III makes a game-winning layup against Purple Reign on Friday, July 24, 2026, in Manhattan.

MANHATTAN — In the wake of Kansas alumni team JHX Hoops’ comeback victory in Topeka to force a decisive third game against Kansas State’s Purple Reign, JHX head coach Sherron Collins and general manager Tyshawn Taylor had emphasized how important it would be for their team to get off to a fast start at Bramlage Coliseum on Friday night.

Instead, the KU alumni fell behind 12-0 and once again had to dig themselves out of a hole.

But dig they did. After taking a brief lead in the second half, JHX Hoops entered the Elam Ending trailing 53-49, but the former Jayhawks held Purple Reign without a field goal for the entire remainder of the contest and went on a 13-2 run capped off by Frank Mason III’s game-winning layup. They claimed a 62-55 victory to win their best-of-three series and advance to next week’s second-round action in The Basketball Tournament.

“Any chance I see an open court, I just try to just be aggressive and just get the best look as possible,” Mason said. “I saw a two-on-one, and the guy didn’t commit to me so I just took it all the way.”

JHX Hoops will face either the Wichita State or New Mexico alumni on Monday at 8 p.m. If the Aftershocks (WSU) win, the game will be in Wichita; if The Enchantment (UNM) wins, the game will be in Topeka.

Zeke Mayo recorded the best performance of either of his two summers in The Basketball Tournament with 25 points, including four 3s. Every other Jayhawk went a combined 11-for-45 (24.4%) from the field, and Jacob Hanna (10 points, 10 rebounds) was JHX’s only other double-digit scorer.

“These dudes played together,” Collins said. “They didn’t care who was scoring. It was so unselfish. It was so great to be a part of and watch.”

Michael Beasley led Purple Reign with 17 points, adding seven rebounds and six blocks, but sat out much of the fourth quarter and did not play a significant role in the second half overall. Austin Trice had a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double in the loss.

“We were kind of in the flow of things a lot,” Mayo said. “So whenever we had a chance, we tried to put Mike in as many actions as we could, and nine times out of 10 it was a ball screen, and he wanted to stay flat and flat-footed, so I tried to take advantage of that.”

The KU alumni missed their first six shots in the opening three minutes, and a baseline fadeaway by Beasley prompted an early timeout by Collins. Beasley had seven early points with three blocks.

By the time Hanna finally put in a right-handed layup, nearly six minutes had elapsed with JHX trailing by 12 and having opened 0-for-12, including 0-for-4.

Xavier Sneed added a four-point play late in the quarter, but the duo of Carlton Bragg Jr. and Hanna helped the KU alumni get to a more manageable 16-9 by the end of the quarter, although JHX bungled a transition opportunity in the final seven seconds off a steal by Mario Chalmers.

Purple Reign became incredibly sloppy and gave the ball away four times in the early stages of the second quarter, but JHX didn’t capitalize on the lull and Beasley ended a scoring drought of four minutes and 25 seconds with a layup to make it 18-11.

The former Jayhawks managed to cut their deficit to 22-20 late in the quarter on back-to-back strong buckets inside by Mayo. Both teams tried to push the pace in the final minutes; the K-State alumni initially had more success doing so, but Mason, previously scoreless, was able to rattle in a 3-pointer through a foul with 3.8 seconds left and convert the ensuing free throw to make it 26-24 in Purple Reign’s favor.

Beasley had 13 points as the only double-digit scorer on either team at the break. JHX Hoops went 8-for-34 (23.5%) from the floor.

JHX took its first lead on a 3-pointer by Billy Preston on the opening possession; he had previously been 0-for-8 in the game. He missed twice more from a similar spot, but Mayo added another.

Mason maneuvered around Beasley for a floater that put JHX ahead 35-32, and the KU alumni could potentially have scored again, but Andrew Orr lost control on a potential transition opportunity and ended up fouling Brandon Childress, resulting in a pair of free throws. Sneed added one more to tie the game before Childress and Mayo traded 3s.

The final moments took a swing in Purple Reign’s favor, with Childress knocking down another high-arcing 3 and then Sneed throwing down a putback dunk to make it 45-39 just before the buzzer.

The former Wildcats’ 13-4 run revived the crowd at Bramlage Coliseum and put the momentum squarely in their favor entering the final quarter.

They led by as many as 10 points at 49-39 and 50-40, though JHX continued to hang around. With Beasley off the floor for an extended stretch, Mayo rattled in an off-balance floater to make it 51-49 with five minutes to go, then Childress bobbled a ball out of bounds to give the KU alumni a chance to tie.

However, Hanna was short on a spinning attempt in the lane, and Childress dropped in a contested close-range shot of his own before an offensive foul brought about the Elam Ending with a target score of 61.

JHX Hoops gradually pushed forward. Mayo made two free throws and Hanna added one more. After a sequence of empty possessions, Mayo drew another foul on Beasley and connected twice more.

“That’s the only time I can relax on the bench, is when Zeke (is) at the free-throw line,” Taylor said.

The first field goal since the clock turned off came from an unlikely source: a left-corner 3 by Bragg that made it a two-possession game at 57-53.

“On Carlton’s shot: Zeke came up to me and I’m pretty sure he told me to get the big guy away from the basket, so we told Carlton, I specifically told Carlton, to not go short corner, to go deep corner,” Taylor said, “and two plays later, we drive, big guys (come) in to help like we thought, and he was wide open and he got to line it up, so it was perfect.”

However, after the KU alumni allowed a second-chance opportunity to Purple Reign, Beasley got Bragg to foul out with a drive to the hoop and made both attempts at the line. (Those proved to be the K-State alumni’s only points of the Elam Ending.)

A foul on the floor by Childress against Hanna resulted in one free throw and possession for the KU alumni, now within three points of victory. Mayo missed a wild attempt at the shot-clock buzzer, but after a turnover by Shaun Williams, Hanna went all the way for a layup to make it 60-55.

Mason then delivered his second straight Elam Ending winner as JHX Hoops became the first KU alumni team ever to win its third game of The Basketball Tournament.

“I feel like we got some sort of monkey off of our back … but it ain’t done,” Collins said. “We can’t be satisfied with just winning this game, winning this series.”