NATIONAL TOURNAMENT | The Decision Wears the Bulls-Eye On Their Back

The Decision has made their presence felt in the Ultimate Hoops National Tournament over the last couple of years, playing for the title two years ago, and bringing home the 2014 championship. They weren't going to sneak up on anybody, and they were going to get everyone's best shot. This isn't the same Decision squad of year's past, with some roster turnover being the result of injuries, relocations, and other reasons. But either way, they were up for the challenge and ready to defend their crown in Las Vegas.

Game 1: Flight Vegas - 61 The Decision - 50

Flight Vegas came in to this tournament with more of an advantage than people think. They didn't travel; were able to sleep in their own beds; don't get tempted by the fun that is Las Vegas; and, the biggest Ace in the hole for them was they realized they were given the 16th and final seed in the tournament, so they had something to prove against the defending national champs.

Flight Vegas came out in a 2-3 zone, which would be a common theme against The Decision, and they executed it perfectly. They challenged The Decision to hit the outside shot, and The Decision started off ice cold from the perimeter. To make matters worse for the defending champs, they were turning the ball over and missing shots they normally make.

Desperately needing a spark, The Decision brought in Emanuel Salas off the bench, and he immediately hit a couple shots from beyond the arc to extend the Flight Vegas zone. In the paint, Anthony Byrd and David Murtha were battling back and forth, with neither willing to give an inch. Neither team was able to gain a big advantage in the first half, and the score heading in to the break was 26-22, Flight Vegas.

In the second half, it was more of the same for The Decision. There seemed to be a lack of fire and they came out of the break flat. Flight Vegas' Corey Ford, who had, by far, the best mustache in the tournament, was unstoppable in the second, and finished the game with 20 points in only 30 minutes. At the end of the day, shooting only 32% from the field and turning the ball over ten times compared to nine assists was too much to overcome for The Decision, as they dropped their opener 61-50.



Game 2: The Decision - 62 Game Over - 42

The second game for The Decision started out a lot like the first one: flat, uninspired basketball with too many mistakes and too many missed shots. Luckily for The Decision, Game Over played the exact same way. Neither team looked particularly great, but both teams were playing solid defense, which led to the low scoring first half. After 22 minutes, The Decision was up 26-19.

In the second half, The Decision decided to mix it up a bit and try to find some energy, so they started the half with four bench players, and regular starter Allen Rice. It was a brilliant coaching move by Ryann Little, because it seemed to energize the defending champs as they came out playing lockdown defense and their overall morale seemed to be boosted. If you've ever seen The Decision play, you know they pride themselves on playing like a team, playing tough defense, and playing loud. Up until this point, none of those characteristics had been seen.

The game was decided within the first five minutes of the second half, as The Decision built up a double digit lead at the 17 minute mark and never let it get to single digits the rest of the way. Ranell Green led the team in scoring with 15 points, as The Decision won handily, 62-42.

Game 3: The Decision - 72 Let's Get It - 65

Heading in to the third game of a long day of basketball, The Decision knew if they won, it was very likely they would move on to the elimination round on Sunday. If that doesn't serve as motivation, nothing will.

The offense seemed to be clicking for The Decision in the nightcap, as they were able to score inside and out. Allen Rice and Willie Starks were commanding the paint while Ryann Little and George Pollard did a great job facilitating the offense and moving the ball around to beat the zone defense that teams were throwing at The Decision. The Decision ended up going in to the break up 34-27.

The second half was a little uncharacteristic of The Decision, as their defense let up a bit, which could have been a result of fatigue, but they scored the most points of any half they played in the tournament to counter their defense. In the end, The Decision was able to hold off Let's Get It by a score of 72-65, and move on to the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Quarterfinals: Bulls - 59 The Decision - 53

This was the game everyone wanted. It may have come earlier than expected, as the selection committee put these teams on opposite sides of the bracket in hopes of them squaring off in a rematch of the 2013 Ultimate Hoops National Championship Game. This is, by far, the biggest rivalry in Ultimate Hoops, and if you're wondering why, you can find out here. The Decision and Bulls may not like each other, but they respect each other. And they'll both have to bring their "A" games if they want to win.

The energy for this game was through the roof from the opening tip, as both teams came out fired up and ready to play. Both teams were trading buckets but the Bulls made a mini run and went up by five. Willie Starks came off the bench and provided an instant spark, as he grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, and followed that with a three pointer on the offensive side. There were no easy baskets in the first half, as both teams played solid basketball. The only reason The Decision wasn't up at the half, is they found themselves in a little bit of foul trouble, and gave the Bulls too many chances at the charity stripe. Were all the foul calls necessary? That seems to be the big debate. The game was tied at the half at 25.

As you could imagine, the second half was just as intense as the first, and both teams were playing their tails off. Every single shot was highly contested, every rebound was earned, and every screen that was set still hurts. The Bulls had the biggest lead of the half of 43-37 at the ten minute mark, but The Decision refused to go away, and kept clawing their way back in to the game, tying the game at 47 with five minutes left. The Bulls had a two point lead with under a minute left, when the referees made a very controversial no-call. With 30 seconds left in the game, the Bulls up two and trying to run out the clock, Bulls star Paris Kyles made a pass that The Decision's Anthony Byrd deflected straight up in the air. Byrd went up, caught the ball and an inadvertent Kyles elbow to the throat that caused Byrd to lose the ball and go to the ground. The refs swallowed their whistles as Kyles was able to gather the ball, and turn the game in to a free throw shooting contest. Unfortunately for The Decision, the Bulls made their free throws and were able to win the game 59-53, knocking The Decision out of the tournament. After the game, while shaking hands, the 2014 UH National Tournament MVP (Byrd) and the 2013 UH National Tournament MVP (Kyles) shared a long embrace, reminiscent of the way Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would embrace each other as heated rivals that had the utmost respect for each other.

After the game, Byrd said, "We gave them everything we had, and they gave us everything they had...in the end, we came up just short." Byrd also said, "You have to win with class, and you have to lose with class. This is a classy tournament, and the Bulls show class every year."

The Decision captain Ryann Little didn't mince words when he was talking about the officiating. Little was quoted as saying, "It's tough when you're playing seven on five (talking about the two refs.) This tournament is tough enough playing against the players, but playing against the refs, too?" When asked if The Decision will return to the 2016 Ultimate Hoops National Tournament, Little nodded and said with a big smile, "Oh yeah, we'll be back. We need to bring that trophy back to Colorado."