Team Fredette Pulls Off Comeback Victory In Opening Round Of TBT

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Team Fredette was one of the highlight teams a year ago.  Led by former BYU legend Jimmer Fredette, Team Fredette advanced to the Final Four of the winner take all $2 million field.

No Jimmer this year for Team Fredette and the 15-man roster was clearly missing their star on the court.  Instead, Jimmer was on the bench coaching up his team.

Small crowd

The crowd was not large at the Maverik Center for Team Fredette vs. the CitiTeam Blazers.

Crowd at tip-off for Team Fredette opener in TBT. pic.twitter.com/3wNuYDhImg

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) July 26, 2019

Slow Start

After the first quarter, Team Fredette found themselves down 30-15 and was shooting 1-of-10 from beyond the three-point line.  Former BYU all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws saw only five minutes of action and didn’t touch the ball in that span.

Ledbetter injects life into Team Fredette

Early in the second quarter, Team Fredette’s second-year man Jeff Ledbetter buried two three-pointers to get the host team back in the game and cut the deficit to nine points.  But the Blazers had a quick response going on a 6-0 run to build the lead back up to 15.

Team Fredette is getting ready for tip-off. @jimmerfredette and Dave Rose watching warmups. @thetournament #BYU pic.twitter.com/lpi5nzGxcj

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 26, 2019

Team Fredette had no answer for former Jazzman

CitiTeam Blazers forward Malcolm Thomas who had a stint with the Utah Jazz was dominant in the low post.  Thomas, who starred in college at San Diego State during the Kawhi Leonard years, scored 15 points in the first half and shot 6-of-7 from the field as the Blazers built up a 54-36 lead heading into the halftime locker room.

From Jimmer range!

In the third quarter Team Fredette came out on fire hitting six three-pointers to cut the deficit to 67-61 with 3:51 left in the third quarter.  The Blazers responded back with a quick three of their own to build the lead back to nine points.

Fight back

Jordon Crawford had a fake that fooled everyone as he got to the basket with a wide-open layup.  Then on the defensive end, he drew an offensive charge. Team Fredette outscored the Blazers by 15 points in the third quarter to head into the final quarter down 77-74.

Tie ball game in the 4th.

Team Fredette’s Jeff Ledbetter buried three free throws to tie the game at 77 apiece with eight minutes left in the game.

Elam Ending

The two teams entered the Elam Ending portion of the game with Team Fredette holding a 90-88 lead.  The Elam Ending takes place after the first dead ball under the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter.  Team Fredette came away victorious with a 99-96 victory.

Team Fredette (@teamfredettetbt) pulls off the comeback win to advance in @thetournament. pic.twitter.com/pmbipLOc9N

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 26, 2019

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.