Rained out at New York’s Rucker Park, Big 5 alumni win resumed game in Bronx gym

NEW YORK — Playing The Basketball Tournament’s first-ever outdoor games at Harlem’s fabled Rucker Park was a great idea in theory. It blended the event’s pickup game nature with the atmosphere of one of the most historic courts in the country.

It was the most highly-anticipated part of competing in the TBT for the Big 5 alumni team, matched up Saturday against the Patriot League’s Ex-Pats in the first round.

The game began, but afternoon showers postponed it for 4½ hours — making it the first rain delay in TBT history. The game began shortly after 2 p.m. at Rucker Park and wrapped up indoors with the Big 5 team winning, 74-67, at Gauchos Gym in the Bronx, home of the New York-based AAU program.

“It’s cold, it’s raining, we were sweating, but a lot of our guys are Philadelphia guys,” said former Temple star Khalif Wyatt, coach of the Big 5. “We showed a lot of toughness today. ... You just try to keep guys mentally ready more than physically ready.”

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Autism Army and Peacock Nation had the early slot for the first day of Rucker Park games. They enjoyed the day’s sunshine. That game was set up for a next-basket-wins scenario and settled by Autism Awareness being first to reach the “Elam Ending” target score of 69.

Clouds overcast the court between contests. Without more threatening weather, it wasn’t enough to impact the Big 5-Ex-Pats game tipping off.

The first seven minutes set the stage for a battle. Both teams were trading baskets and playing with an added physicality that comes with such a big stage.

Team Big 5 led, 15-14, when the rain began, delaying the game with the clock stuck at 2 minutes, 8 seconds. Players and spectators alike scattered to find cover while the grounds crew pulled a tarp over the black-and-gold court.

Big 5 found itself huddled together under a nearby tent. Players snacked on fruit cups, hid their shoes from the rain, and called family and friends. Team general manager Rob Hollomon spent the break fielding phone calls about contingency plans.

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When word spread of the pivot to playing inside, players and coaches braved the storm, running out to the team bus. They went back to the hotel, swapping their soaking wet jerseys and sneakers for dry ones before heading back across the Harlem River to Gauchos Gym.

At 7 p.m., the game resumed.

Adding to the day’s confusion, Big 5 and Ex-Pats switched their respective jersey colors while keeping home and away designations.

After the nearly five-hour break, a barrage of threes from Ramon Galloway and Ryan Daly extended Big 5′s lead to double digits. Ex-Pats crawled back, tying the score at 66 by the four-minute mark. The Elam Ending target score was 74.

With a five-point lead and a dead clock, Quenton DeCosey drove toward the baseline through traffic. He flipped up a layup from the left side, sealing the win for the Philadelphia delegation.

“Before the game I told him, ‘DeCosey, I want to see all big guard stuff,’” Wyatt said of his fellow former Owl. “He didn’t give me much big guard stuff today, but that was just a big guard move to seal the win.”

By the day’s end, Big 5 had played on two historic New York courts.

Countless legends have passed through Rucker Park, from Earl Monroe to Allen Iverson to Kobe Bryant. The public park has become synonymous with high-level street ball.

Gauchos Gym, on the other hand, is considered the epicenter for basketball in the Bronx. Rod Strickland, Stephon Marbury, and Kemba Walker are just a few of the program’s notable alumni. The hallways just outside the gym are a museum of framed jerseys and pictures of past players.

On Friday afternoon, before games got underway, TBT held Rucker Park’s three-point contest at The High School of Fashion Industries. Galloway, a former La Salle star, sank 11 straight threes in the final round to win the regional competition. He’ll head to the championship in Dayton, Ohio, for a chance at $33,333.

The Big 5 alumni will play again at Rucker Park, barring any more delays, at 6 p.m. on Sunday against Autism Army.