From Red-Eye to Red Hot: Buddy Boeheim Drains 7 threes in Boeheim’s Army TBT Return

Syracuse, N.Y. – Buddy Boeheim led Boeheim’s Army to a 97-71 win over the Herkimer Originals in their first appearance in The Basketball Tournament since 2023. After wrapping up an NBA Summer League game with the Indiana Pacers, Buddy caught a red-eye straight to Syracuse. Landing in Syracuse at about 9:30 a.m., it didn’t take long for Buddy to start cooking.

“Early on that bank three helped me get going a little, but I think I found my legs after that…the adrenaline got going,” said Boeheim. This set the tone early, with Buddy putting up 8 points in the first period alone and knocking down his first two three-pointers. Buddy ended the game with 24 points and drained 7 of his 9 threes.

Not having a single rep of practice with the team, Buddy credited the team’s quick build up of chemistry to the familiarity of former teammates.

“I didn’t get to practice at all with them, but playing with E [Elijah Hughes] for a while now it felt like old times…, and playing with Gilyard is easy, he makes it really easy, and then I’ve played with Noah Starkey and OKC this year in the G League.”

Hughes’ impact was also felt from tip-off to the final buzzer, hitting both the first shot and the final Elam Ending shot with his signature corner three. He finished the game with 21 points and went 5-8 from three.

With this win, Boeheim’s Army advances to the second round of the tournament, where they will be facing We Are D3 Monday night at 8 p.m.