CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Best Virginia pestered Shell Shock early and often by way of relentless full court pressure in a The Basketball Tournament (TBT) quarterfinal at the Charleston Coliseum.
In turn, the home team got the game at its preferred pace and never trailed, with Best Virginia moving on by way of its 74-61 victory.
“Our DNA is defense and pressure with adults in the room,” Best Virginia head coach Jarrod West said. “That first-half defense was very, very good. The only time they really got a good shot is when we took a bad shot. When we set our defense, we’re good pretty good. That’s our DNA and fabric. We’re going to continue to do try to do that and get ready for Thursday.”
The result sends Best Virginia into a TBT semifinal for the first time. That will be played at 6 p.m. Thursday in Charleston against Eberlein Drive, an 88-75 winner later Monday over Sideline Cancer.
By smothering Shell Shock from the outset, Best Virginia limited its quarterfinal opponent to 3-for-15 shooting in the opening quarter.
Not until Diamond Stone’s first of two free throws halfway through the opening 9-minute frame did Maryland’s alumni-based team score, and it took nearly 6 minutes for Shell Shock to record its first field goal.
Still, SS was to within 10-9 following a Ronald March layup, before BV countered with nine straight points to end the opening period — a stretch that featured seven straight points from James Reese and two free throws from Isaiah Sanders and allowed for Best Virginia to play from in front and make the most of home court advantage.
“We relied on that,” West said. “That’s very important. We have another one at home.”
Reese opened the second-quarter scoring with a three-pointer to make it a 13-point margin — the largest of the opening half.
When Sanders canned a trey 2:54 before halftime, BV was still in control and led 30-18, though Shell Shock got six points from Andre Fox over the final 2:29 of the half to enter the intermission trailing 32-24.
After getting to within six early in the third quarter, Shell Shock’s deficit grew to the largest of the game at 41-26 as Best Virginia got a Jarrod West triple and close range baskets from Reese, Kedrian Johnson and Tre Mitchell during a 9-0 surge.
But Shell Shock outscored BV 17-6 over the remainder of the third and faced a 47-43 deficit after Kyle Cardaci made one of his team’s four threes on 25 attempts.
After trailing by eight early into the fourth quarter, Shell Shock used a 6-0 run and was to within two after Diamond Stone scored from close range.
Reese countered with a trey, and after Darryl Morsell scored inside to cut his team’s deficit to three, it quickly went back to seven as Mitchell and Johnson both scored in the paint.
BV’s lead was 59-54 before perhaps the most pivotal stretch ensued just before the start of the Elam Ending. It began with a Toby Okani trey off a feed from West, and after Stone’s turnover, Reese got in transition for a conventional three-point play that allowed his team to enter Elam Ending on top, 65-54.
“A wild play,” Reese said. “We played ultra hard and ended up in the right spots. We have high IQ players.”
Fox began the Elam Ending with a three-point play of his own and Shell Shock was to within six after Anthony Tarke’s dunk.
West countered with a jumper, and after Cardaci’s turnover, Reese found Johnson for a transition layup and a 10-point lead.
“You have to be in the moment,” Reese said. “So many crazy things happen in those moments.”
Okani added a bucket to make it a 12-point lead, and JD Weatherspoon finished off the contest with a follow-up bucket that allowed BV to reach the target score of 73.
“That Elam Ending is a monster,” coach West said. “You can’t let the clock run out. You have to execute.”
FINAL: Best Virginia 74, Shell Shock 61
JD Weatherspoon follow-up bucket secures Best Virginia’s spot in TBT semifinal.
James Reese led BV and all players with 24 points. pic.twitter.com/4clsHK3OlU
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) July 29, 2025
Best Virginia shot better than 47 percent (29 for 61) and forced 13 turnovers, while liming Shell Shock to 22-for-57 shooting.
BV had a slight 37-35 rebounding advantage and did not surrender an offensive board in the opening half.
Reese led all players with 24 points for his fourth 20-plus point contest in as many TBT games this year.
Okani scored 10 and West added nine with five assists. All of West’s point production came after halftime on 4-for-6 shooting after he entered the break 0 for 3.
“I passed up some open shots just to get him a shot. When he started making some shots, that boosted his confidence some more,” Johnson said.
Fox led Shell Shock with 13 points, March scored 12 and Morsell added 11.
The 6-foot-10 Stone had a game-high 10 rebounds but shot 2 for 9 and finished with six points and five turnovers.
“Stone is a super talent. He was a NBA draft pick. We tried to do everything we can to make him shoot over the top,” coach West said. “We wanted to keep him outside of the paint. If we had a hand and contested, those type of shots we’d live with. We wanted to keep him in as many ball screens as possible defensively to wear him down. He was a big part of the scouting report offensively and defensively.”