(WKYT) – Maryland alum Darryl Morsell threw down an uncontested dunk to seal La Familia’s 72-68 win over The Ville on Saturday in the opening game of a best-of-three matchup between Kentucky and Louisville alumni teams in The Basketball Tournament.
“Every time there’s a UK-Louisville game, regardless of if it’s in this thing or if it’s played in December or wherever, it’s always going to be physical. It’s an hour and 15 minutes up the road. The fans hate each other. The players, we understand it,” said La Familia Head Coach Jon Hood.
La Familia, playing at Memorial Coliseum, led by as many as 17 in the second half before The Ville rallied to tie it at 63 entering the Elam Ending, which sets a target score. With the target set at 71, Morsell’s winning basket came off a baseline inbound from Kahlil Whitney.
.@KentuckyMBB came out to support @LaFamiliaTBT in their Game 1 VICTORY over The Ville at the Historic Memorial Coliseum! 👋 pic.twitter.com/KMFMDTOYTL
— TBT (@thetournament) July 18, 2026
Morsell finished with 17 points to lead all scorers. Andrew Harrison added 14 for La Familia, while Sean McNeil scored 12 and James Mainor-Bell had 10. Chris Coffey led the team with eight rebounds. Marcus Lee and Archie Goodwin were not with the team.
The Ville got 16 points from Chris Jones and 12 apiece from Montrezl Harrell and David Johnson. Former Louisville guard Russ Smith scored nine points but struggled from outside.
“Guys that we have on our team are great. Everyone gives it 100 percent. And we know what Louisville is going to bring. They’re a good team. They’re physical, strong, smart, professional. So we know we got to bring it when we play them,” La Familia guard Andrew Harrison said post game.
Game 2 is scheduled for Monday night at Freedom Hall in Louisville. If The Ville wins, a decisive Game 3 would be Wednesday in Lexington. After Saturday’s finish, Morsell said La Familia expects “some energy at home” and will need to match it in Game 2.