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Oregon alumni team Always Us wins in dramatic fashion to open play at The Basketball Tournament

Jarrid Denneyby: Jarrid Denney07/17/22jarrid_denney
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Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It was a nervous final few minutes for Oregon’s alumni team, Always Us, in the opening round of The Basketball Tournament.

Always Us, a team comprised primarily of past Oregon stars, had three opportunities down the stretch to secure a win in the first round of the 64-team, single-elimination TBT bracket, and appeared like they could be headed for an early exit from tournament play.

But former Duck point guard Garrett Sim buried two free throws to lead No. 4-seeded Always Us to a 79-78 win over the No. 5-seed Jackson Underdawgs to Saturday at D.J. Sokel Arena in Omaha, Neb.

Sims’ free throws notched the win for Always Us by way of the Elam Ending, which sets a target score in the final four minutes of the final period which must be reached in order for the game to end. In this case, Always Us needed to reach 79 points to win. Once they reached 77 points, they missed three field goal attempts before Sim was fouled on a three-pointer and then went to the free throw line to win the game.

Jacob Young, who started for the Ducks last season, scored a team-high 27 points, including 15 in the third period, to lead Always Us to victory.

Michael Fink, who starred at Grand Canyon and Illinois during his college career, scored 16 points for Always Us. He is one of just two players on the roster who do not have ties to the Oregon program.

Always Us will face Gutter Cat Gang, the No. 1 seed in the Omaha region, at 3 p.m. PT on Sunday. They will need to win five more games in order to take home the winner-take-all $1 million prize.

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