After falling one win short of a championship last season, Golden Eagles took the final step this time around and beat Sideline Cancer 78-73 on Tuesday in the finals of The Basketball Tournament.
The team takes home $1 million in the winner-take-all format. Golden Eagles plan to split the money evenly, with the head coach and every player getting $90,000, and general manager Daniel Fitzgerald earning $80,000.
Last summer, Carmen’s Crew finished the title game on an 8-0 run to beat Golden Eagles 66-60. Entering the tournament, Golden Eagles, a team made up of former Marquette players, had the second-most victories all time in TBT but zero championships to show for it.
“It means a lot to us,” coach Joe Chapman said. “It was only one step. We knew what we needed to do. We wanted to get that monkey off our back and become a winner. It was our last step and something we needed to do as a team.”
Tuesday night’s Elam Ending started at 70-70, meaning the first team to reach 78 points would be crowned champion. Golden Eagles scored quickly on an inbounds play, followed by Marcus Keene continuing his hot late-game shooting and burying a 3 for Sideline Cancer. Jamil Wilson hit another big 3 for Golden Eagles. Then Travis Diener ended the game with a corner 3 to give his team the championship.