Weekly Recap: Thrilling Comeback Highlights Week 1 of THE TIPOFF

By Sam Perley

Now over halfway through its group stage schedule in THE TIPOFF Tournament powered by AT&T, Hornets Venom GT finds itself sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference’s Group D with a 1-2 record. Overall, the team has shown some promising flashes considering it has three rookies and only one returning starter from last year and now, it’s about putting together a full 24-minute performance.

A Look Back:

April 7 at Knicks Gaming: Trailing by 17 in the second quarter, Hornets Venom GT rallied to tie the game at 60-60 by the 1:36 mark of the fourth quarter. Following a missed Knicks Gaming 3-point attempt, PG Glenn “GlennRatty” Wilkerson then drained a fadeaway, go-ahead 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, just before the shot clock went off. Buckets by C Damon “DJ” Jones – who finished with 20 points and a team-record 23 rebounds – on Hornets Venom GT’s next two trips down the floor sealed the 69-64 victory.

https://twitter.com/HornetsVenomGT/status/1512173249156763648?s=20&t=SsUDFjMt8f2AreLXNs2mtA

April 8 vs. Nets GC: Leading by six after the opening frame, Hornets Venom GT got outscored by Nets GC, 25-12 in the second quarter to enter halftime down by seven. The squad righted itself in the second half, but ultimately couldn’t overcome the rocky frame. GlennRatty led the way with 25 points and drained 7-of-11 3-point attempts in the 76-67 loss.

April 9 vs. Raptors Uprising GC: Hornets Venom GT held a four-point lead at the break, but much like the last game against Nets GC, one bad quarter derailed its chances at victory. Raptors Uprising GC won the third, 25-10 on its way to a 72-58 win and 3-0 start, with three different players – Big Saint, KennyGotWork and FantaSZN – all scoring 20+ points. PF Kingsley “Crown” Braggs finished with 4 points (4-of-4 from 3P), three steals and three blocks for Hornets Venom GT.

Coming Up Next:

April 11 vs. Magic Gaming (10 PM ET): Magic Gaming opened THE TIPOFF group play with a 26-point loss to Raptors Uprising GC last Wednesday night, then fell to Knicks Gaming, 51-46, one night later. Offense appears to be an early issue for the squad, which is averaging just 51.0 PTS on 41% shooting and 29% from 3-point range (14-of-48) thus far.

April 12 at Grizz Gaming (10 PM ET): Grizz Gaming also started 0-2 following double-digit losses to both Raptors Uprising GC and NetsGC last week. PG BP has struggled to replace All-Star Vandii, who was traded to Pacers Gaming in the offseason. Over his first two games, BP is averaging 12.5 PTS on 38% shooting (5-of-13 from 3-point), 13.5 AST and 7.0 TOV.