Hornets Venom GT Sweeps CLTX Gaming, Drops Both Games to Wizards DG in THE TIPOFF Tournament
May 20, 2021
Sherm Records 35-PT Game, PeteBeBallin Double-Doubles Four Times in Team’s 2-2 Showing
By Sam Perley
A pair of Hornets Venom GT wins to open up Wednesday night’s THE TIPOFF Tournament Powered by AT&T were followed by back-to-back losses against the reigning champs, forcing the squad to come up just short of advancing to the Quarterfinal round.
Charlotte came roaring out of the gates in Game 1, building up a 19-9 advantage after the opening frame and then stretched the cushion to 15 by the break. Both sides scored 15 points in the third before Hornets Venom put the game away for a good down the stretch, cruising to a 72-51 victory.
Guard Justin “Sherm” Sherman exploded for a game-high 35 points and six assists, with fellow backcourter Craig “rigby” Burnett Jr. notched 18 points in his NBA 2K League debut. Center Peter “PeteBeBallin” Malin also double-doubled in the win, finishing with 15 points and 17 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive end. Guard Sheriff “FT” Cruz tallied 16 points and 11 assists for CLTX Gaming, good for a double-double of his own.
Boston found its footing in Game 2, as both teams went back and forth until midway into the fourth quarter. Ahead by three with 1:15 remaining, rigby drained a mid-range jumper to extend Charlotte’s lead to multiple possessions and following consecutive CLTX Gaming turnovers, Sherm fed PeteBeBallin for an alley-oop reverse jam at the :18 mark to seal the sweep.
.@Sherm2x and @PeteBeBallin connect for the alley-oop dagger! 🗡️#TheTipOff2KL | #VENOMenal pic.twitter.com/UGTioXEzXg
— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) May 20, 2021
Sherm finished with another 28 points and five assists in the win, PeteBeBallin put up 12 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for his second straight double-double and rigby added another 10 points. FT (17 points) and center Jhade “worthingcolt” Black (16 points and 12 rebounds) led the way for Boston in the loss.
Needing to win just one of two against Wizards District Gaming to advance out of Group 3, Hornets Venom GT found itself down nine at the break in Game 3 following a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the logo by forward Justin “Just Awkward” Howell. Charlotte got back to within six by the 3:08 mark of the fourth, then surrendered a second-chance and-1 dunk to center Ryan “Dayfri” Conger that effectively shifted control to Wizards DG for good.
Sherm (14 points and 10 assists) and PeteBeBallin (13 points and 11 rebounds) both double-doubled in the loss. Guard Jack “JBM” Mascone had 20 points and nine assists for Wizards DG, which also got a big showing from last year’s Finals MVP Dayfri as well (18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists).
Hornets Venom GT then fell behind by 18 in the second quarter of Game 4, although rallied late in the frame to trail by just nine at halftime once again. A back-breaking 20-0 Wizards DG run to open the third quarter extinguished any hope of a Charlotte win, as the reigning champs coasted to a 78-59 triumph.
Deeeeeeeeep 3⃣ from @RigbyCB right before half! pic.twitter.com/k6lPwqY1ZQ
— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) May 20, 2021
Sherm (17 points), PeteBeBallin (15) and rigby (13) all closed out the night with double-digit performances, with the Hornets Venom big man grabbing 13 boards to go 4-for-4 in the double-double department. JBM erupted for 39 points and 11 assists, Dayfri added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and rookie forward Alexander “xoLebron” Lebron scored 10 points as well.
Charlotte committed just 11 total turnovers over its first two games against CLTX Gaming, then coughed it up 21 times against Wizards DG. The team also held Boston to just 53% shooting from the field across the two opening wins, while Washington connected on 63% of its shot attempts in the Group 3-clinching victories.
Hornets Venom GT will now begin 2021 NBA 2K League regular season play on Thursday, May 27 with two road games against Hawks Talon GC beginning at 8 PM EST. Catch all the action on the NBA 2K League Twitch and YouTube channels.