FINAL: La Familia's 4th quarter comeback comes up short in 71-70 loss to Eberlein Drive

La Familia had multiple chances to stay alive in The Basketball Tournament, but missed free throws and poor rebounding knocked the Kentucky alums out of the bracket.

On Tuesday afternoon in Memorial Coliseum, La Familia made a furious fourth quarter comeback, fueled by a 16-0 run that allowed them to take the lead going into the Elam Ending, but Eberlein Drive’s Anthony Clemmons hit the game-winning three-pointer to win 71-70, advancing them to the quarterfinals in the process.

Archie Goodwin led the way with 19 points for La Familia, but missed two important free throws in the Elam Ending, including one that would have won the game. Kahlil Whitney added 18 points and five rebounds while Willie Cauley-Stein and Andrew Harrison finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. La Familia gave up several offensive rebounds in the Elam Ending with the game on the line, which led to multiple chances at the game-winning three for Eberlein Drive.

La Familia finished the night shooting 45.9 percent from the field — compared to a 38.5 percent mark for the opposition — but went just 3-15 from beyond the arc while giving up 17 offensive rebounds. Terry Taylor led all scorers with 20 points for Eberlein Drive.

To open things up, La Familia struck first with a quick 4-0 lead, but Eberlien Drive punched right back and made the first real run of the game. After the UK alums went ahead 8-7, it was all Eberlein Drive the rest of the opening quarter. La Familia trailed by 10 going into the second frame, leaning far too heavily on isolation basketball while struggling to battle on the boards defensively.

Eberlein Drive would extend its lead to as many as 11 points early in the second quarter before La Familia finally began to settle in. Getting easy buckets still proved difficult, but the defense took a major step in the right direction. La Familia, which was 0-8 from deep at the time, went into halftime down just five, 35-30, as Goodwin paced his squad with 10 points.

La Familia continued its push out of the intermission. The UK alums’ first made triple came from DJ Burns, which cut the deficit down to two for the first time since early in the first quarter. But Eberlein Drive responded with seven straight points to create another cushion, eventually taking a six-point lead into the final quarter.

Eberlein Drive went on another run to start the fourth, stretching its advantage back to eight points. But then La Familia locked in, scoring nine straight — capped by a Whitney triple — to retake the lead. Eberlein Drive was forced to take a timeout, but a missed shot followed by a Cauley-Stein fastbreak score and a Whitney layup pushed the UK alums in front by five as the Elam Ending quickly approached.

It was a 16-0 run for La Familia in the fourth period before Eberlein Drive hit a three to stop the bleeding. The Elam Ending finally hit with La Familia leading 63-59 and the target score set at 71. Whitney struck first for the former ‘Cats with three quick points, but Eberlein Drive rattled off nine straight to take the lead. Whitney responded with another layup to make it 69-68 in favor of La Familia. Goodwin had a chance to win the game with a pair of free throws, but went 1-2 at the line before Clemmons hit the game-winner on the other end.