All-American Ryan Bruns, Red Scare advance on spectacular dunk in 80-78 victory over Mid-American Unity in second round of TBT

July 20, 2019

By Tim Glon

COLUMBUS — Ohio Northern All-American Ryan Bruns (Chickasaw/Marion Local) scored six points, grabbed three rebounds and had two steals to help the Red Scare to a thrilling 80-78 second round victory over Mid-American Unity at The Basketball Tournament (TBT) on Saturday afternoon at the Capital Center.

Leading 77-74, the Unity had seven possessions with the opportunity to reach the Elam Ending Target Score of 80, but each time the Red Scare held on defense end eventually tied the score at 78-all.

A spectacular dunk by Devin Oliver, following up a miss by teammate Kyle Davis, won the game and brought the near-capacity crowd to its feet.

Oliver led four Red Scare players in double figures in scoring with 22 points. Vee Sanford scored 17 points, Darrell Davis scored 14 and Kyle Davis added 11, including five in the Elam Ending.

The game was shown live on ESPN and can be watched on replay on any of the ESPN platforms.

Bruns scored all six of his points in the second quarter, which included an impressive baseline drive for a dunk. He is averaging 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two games in TBT.

"I'm having a blast," Bruns said. "It has been an adjustment. The game is so much quicker, but I am getting used to it. The Elam Ending is a really fun way to end the basketball game. It's full of suspense and every game ands on a made basket. My free throw on Friday was really fun and the dunk today was amazing. I can't wait to play another game again on Sunday."

TBT is a 64-team tournament of top-notch professional basketball, featuring college alumni teams, international basketball stars, ex-NBA players and future NBA players competing in a single-elimination 5-on-5 tournament.

The third-seeded Red Scare advances to the sectional finals and will face either top-seeded Carmen's Crew (Ohio State alumni) or fourth-seeded Big X on Sunday at Noon on ESPN.

In the Elam Ending, the target score for winning the game is determined by adding eight points to the leading team's score at the first dead ball with less than 4:00 left in the fourth quarter.

The champions from each regional site will move on to Championship Weekend to play for the $2 million, winner-take-all prize in Chicago from August 1-6.

Bruns helped the Red Scare to an 108-82 first round victory over The Region on Friday, scoring 13 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. He also made the game-winner, knocking down two free throws to finish the game after the Red Scare led 100-73 entering the Elam Ending.

With the exception of Bruns, the Red Scare are comprised of University of Dayton basketball alumni.

Bruns was named Second Team All-America by D3hoops.com for the second consecutive season in 2018-19.

He was a Second Team All-American by D3hoops.com and the NABC and was a First Team All-Region pick by both organizations last year.

Bruns was also named Second team All-Region by the National Basketball Coaches Association and played in the Reese's NABC Division III Men's Basketball All-Star game on March prior to the NCAA Division III National Championship game at the War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.

He scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the West All-Stars to a 104-101 victory over the East All-Stars.

Bruns is also a three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree, earning First Team honors in 2018 and 2019 and Second Team honors as a sophomore in 2017.

The 2018 OAC Player of the Year, Bruns concluded his outstanding collegiate career with 1,686 career points, which ranks fourth all-time in program history.

Additionally, he owns the program record with 250 blocked shots, sits third in made field goals (643), is fifth in made free throws (366), and ranks 11th in rebounding (723) at Ohio Northern.

He has also named the OAC Player of the Week five times during his career.

COMPLETE SCHEDULE

Friday, July 19

Game 1 ESPN3 3pm EDT (2) Kohl Blooded vs. (7) Mid-American Unity

Game 2 ESPN3 5pm EDT (3) Red Scare vs. (6) The Region

Game 3 ESPN2 7pm EDT (4) Big X vs. (5) West Virginia Wildcats

Game 4 ESPN2 9pm EDT (1) Carmen's Crew vs. (8) Illinois BC

Saturday, July 20

Game 5 ESPN 12pm EDT Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner

Game 6 ESPN 2pm EDT Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner

Sunday, July 21

Regional ESPN 12pm EDT Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner

Championship