Ryan Boatright, his ankle “killing him,” his team fighting for its life, told them he wanted the ball.
“During the time out, I told them, ‘get me the ball,’” Boatright said. “They were trying to draw up a play, I said, ‘Bro, just set a screen, flare out, get me the ball on the right side, I’ll take it home.”
And Boatright delivered another electric ending for the Stars of Storrs, hitting the three to lift the team built around UConn alums to a 78-76 victory over the Green Mountain Men, mostly Vermont alums, in the second round of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) in Syracuse on Monday night.
Ryan Boatright’s bucket lifts UConn’s ‘Stars of Storrs’ to first-round TBT win
The Stars were outrebounded 41-32, as neither team could get any separation. Green Mountain led 69-68 with just under four minutes left when the clock was stopped and the Elam Ending format kicked in. The target score was set at 77, so the UConn guys had to outscore their opponents 9-8 to win.
RYAN BOATRIGHT WINS IT!!!!
THE DEEP THREE ELAM ENDER!!!
The @UConnMBB alumni will play in the Syracuse Regional Final!!!pic.twitter.com/0viVdKUCsX
— TBT (@thetournament) July 21, 2025
Green Mountain quickly surged to within a field goal of winning it, leading 75-72, and had several chances to clinch it. Isaiah Whitehead, former Seton Hall guard joining the UConn Stars, hit a 3-pointer to tie it. The Vermonters had a chance to win when Drew Urquhart went to the line, but he missed the first and intentionally missed the second. UConn got the rebound, but former Husky Rodney Purvis missed a potential game-winning three. Then Green Mountain drew a one-shot foul at the other end, and Ben Shungu made the free throw. The Green Mountain men retained possession, but Dylan Penn missed and Whitehead got the rebound.
So UConn was down one, and needed two points to get to 77 and win the game. Coach Tyler Olander, who played with Boatright on the 2014 national champs, huddled up with the group. What emerged from the huddle was the same play that Boatright executed for a game-winning shot in the AAC Tournament in Hartford in 2015.
Boatright also clinched the first game for the Stars of Storrs on Saturday, with a 30-foot shot from the TBT logo, but they were comfortably ahead of the Brown Ballers and won 90-78.
He scored 17 points on Monday. Whitehead scored 18, Jordan Jones, a CCSU alum, added 10 off the bench. The Stars of Storrs will play We Are D3, a team of mostly former Division III players, which beat Syracuse alumni team Boeheim’s Army, 81-78 on Monday. The two for the Regional title on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on FS1.
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Serving as the unofficial GM of the team founded by Marc D’Amelio, Boatright, 32, told the FS2 announcers he was obligated to play through his twisted ankle and take the lead.
“My ankle’s killing me right now,” Boatright said. “It’s hurting me a lot, I didn’t turn it all the way. Marc and my team put so much into this. Marc put up a lot of money for us to be here. I knew I was a key part of this team and I just had to play through it.”
The 64 team field is competing for a $1 million first prize. The Stars were beaten in the Round of 32 last summer, now they are in the “Sweet 16” for the first time.
“It’s so much fun, it’s a blessing to be able to play back playing in the States again,” said Boatright, who has played as a pro all over the world. “A lot of players that have to play overseas, you don’t get to play in front of your peers, don’t get to play on national TV, your family doesn’t get to watch you play a lot. So to have this opportunity is a blessing.”
Originally Published: July 21, 2025 at 9:45 PM EDT
