Sean Woods made sure it was Ansley Almonor hitting the Elam Ending game-winner

You could see the relief on Ansley Almonor‘s face when he finally hit a three-pointer for La Familia. It also just happened to be the shot that sealed the win for the Kentucky alums in the opening round of The Basketball Tournament.

Almonor is the lone player on this year’s La Familia roster to have played at Kentucky under head coach Mark Pope. The rest of the roster is made up of John Calipari-coached Wildcats or, in the case of a few players, guys who didn’t play for UK at all. Almonor, the youngest player on this team, is the most recent member of La Familia to suit up in front of the Big Blue Nation, so he’s not uncomfortable being in front of the fans, but at the same time, he’s still using TBT as a tryout opportunity for a professional career.

There were clearly some nerves in his bones once the ball was tipped Friday night against a Stroh’s Squad team that never truly stood a chance. Memorial Coliseum was rocking with Kentucky fans eager to cheer on their favorites — Almonor being chief among them. It wasn’t an ideal start, though — he missed his first four three-pointers of the night.

But he hit the one that mattered most: the Elam Ending game-winner. With the target score set at 105 and La Familia sitting on 102 points, head coach Sean Woods made sure Almonor had his moment with the BBN. With the crowd behind him, Almonor loaded up a contested three-pointer from the right side of the floor and fired it right into the bottom of the net.

ANSLEY ALMONOR HITS THE ELAM ENDER FOR @LaFamiliaTBT!!!

The crowd favorite hits the three pointer to give La Familia the 53 point win! pic.twitter.com/6gFwDII1JC

— TBT (@thetournament) July 19, 2025

“Almonor was a little nervous today…” Woods said postgame. “But I was trying to get him a good one, and that last one from three, I was gonna make sure no one else shot that ball but him. And finally he made one, so hopefully that can get him going for the next one, because we’re gonna need him.”

After the game-winner fell in, Almonor broke out his signature three-point celebration and was mobbed by his teammates on his way down to the other end of the floor. Doron Lamb and DeAndre Liggins, two former Kentucky players from over a decade ago, were among the first teammates to give him a friendly shove. He finished with five points and seven rebounds off the bench.

“I wasn’t too hot today,” Almonor told TBT sideline reporter Jennifer Hale. “So I just wanted to make sure I shot it with confidence, end the game, and get out of here. I did that and it went in — finally.”

Now it’s time for Almonor to carry over his Elam Ender into Sunday’s second-round matchup against War Ready. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX) back inside Memorial Coliseum.

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