PHILADELPHIA — As 20th & Olney’s Steven Smith walked off the court shortly after being ejected, he gestured toward Eric Devendorf, seemingly asking for the Boeheim’s Army guard to meet him elsewhere.

Moments earlier, Devendorf and Smith exchanged heated words and had to be separated after a fight for a loose ball led to a confrontation under the basket. It was their second altercation of the game and they were each assessed a second technical, resulting in their ejections.

“(Eric’s) a hotheaded type of guy,” Boeheim’s Army head coach Lawrence Moten said of the moment. “He loves the game. He plays with a lot of passion.”

It was the culmination of an evening that saw emotions consistently run high. And when the final buzzer sounded, it was Boeheim’s Army that won a back-and-forth affair, topping 20th & Olney 92-91 in overtime in the third round of The Basketball Tournament at the Gallagher Center in Philadelphia.

Long before Devendorf and Smith were tossed, 20th & Olney took a 59-49 lead early in the second half when Smith connected on a smooth baby hook from the left block. With the La Salle-based team holding all momentum, it appeared as if things were about to spiral out of control for Boeheim’s Army.

But beginning with Demetris Nichols’ 3-point play on the ensuing possession, Boeheim’s Army responded with a 17-7 run. And with the score even at 66-66 at the nine-minute mark, Boeheim’s Army forward Terrence Roberts cleaned up a missed Devendorf layup attempt and slammed home the putback.

As he ran to the other end, Roberts yelled to himself and urged the Syracuse fans in attendance to get louder.

“Being able to come back like that, everyone just did their part,” Roberts said.

Roberts’ dunk catapulted Boeheim’s Army to a 79-70 lead with five and a half minutes left. That’s when Devendorf and Smith had their first conflict.

As Smith elevated for a dunk on a breakaway, Devendorf caught him from behind and blocked his shot before being whistled for a foul. Devendorf said something in Smith’s ear, which led to the big man getting in Devendorf’s face. That forced the officials to assess them both technical fouls.

Shortly thereafter, 20th & Olney went on a run of its own and eventually forced overtime. With Devendorf ejected, Boeheim’s Army fell behind 91-90 in the final minute of the four-minute period.

The former La Salle crop had both the lead and possession with roughly 45 seconds on the clock, but Baye Moussa Keita saved Boeheim’s Army by blocking a shot with 14 seconds left. Willie Deane collected the ball and swung it up the floor to Olu Famutimi. Famutimi drove to the rim and drew a foul, earning himself two free throws.

“I just had to focus in,” he said. “I knew I had to make both of them.”

He did make both, and Syracuse had fought back to take a 92-91 lead. Keita then forced another turnover on 20th & Olney’s final possession. When the clock hit triple zeros, Keita and his teammates ran toward half court, where they embraced, while Moten raised his arms and held them in the air.

When the team left the court a few minutes later, Moten found Steve Smith’s father in the hallway of the Gallagher Center. The two discussed the confrontations between Devendorf and Smith and came to an understanding, Moten said.

“There’s no animosity or anything,” Moten said. “… You’re playing for one million dollars. There’s going to be tension.”

Published on July 19, 2015 at 9:49 pm

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