The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The highest ranked teams headed into this year’s Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis will face off this afternoon to decide the tournament title.

The No.4 Virginia Cavaliers and No.25 Wisconsin Badgers meet in the championship game scheduled for 2pm in the Atlantis resort’s Imperial Arena and broadcast live on ESPN.

Both teams advanced with convincing semi-final wins in the early session on day two.

The Badgers dominated the Oklahoma Sooners 78-58 in the first game of the afternoon.

Wisconsin makes it second Battle 4 Atlantis Championship appearance after winning the tournament title in 2014.

D’Mitrik Trice went 0-5 from three-point range in Wisconsin’s first round win over Stanford but rebounded with a career high performance beyond the arc against Oklahoma.

Trice scored a career high 25 and set a new tournament record with seven three pointers. Trice’s only miss from beyond the arc on the day came with just under six minutes left to play in the second half.

The sophomore guard set the tone for the entire Badgers roster who shot 14-22 from three on the afternoon. Kobe King scored 15 while Ethan Happ scored 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

“Yesterday the shots didn’t go in, but today they fell,” Trice said. “This means a lot. I thank my teammates and coaches for always believing in me, and I just continue to work on my confidence to get this thing rolling.”

Christian James led the Sooners with 18 points.

Both teams made three of their first six field goals. Wisconsin took a 31-28 lead into the half and used a 12-3 run to separate themselves for good.

The Badgers went ahead by double digits for the first time when Happ found King on a backdoor cut and wide open layup (45-34).

Every time Oklahoma chipped away, the Badgers answered with three. Trice dished to Nate Reuvers for another three and an 18-point lead with just under eight minutes left to play.

In the second semi-final, Virginia overcame a slow start to outlast Dayton 66-59.

De’Andre Hunter matched his career high with 23 points to help the Cavaliers stave off the upset-minded Flyers.

Hunter’s clutch three pointer with under one minute left to play gave Virginia a two-possession lead and breathing room with a seven-point advantage.

Virginia started 0-6 from the field and Dayton took an early 7-0 lead. They led 13-10 before the vaunted Virginia defence clamped down defensively and eventually took a 27-22 lead into the half.

Virginia shot 50 per cent from the field in the second half, but the Flyers shot 55 per cent and remained in contention much of the way.

Ty Jerome also had 15 points for Virginia while Kyle Guy scored 14. Josh Cunningham had a game-high 15 for Dayton.

Both the Cavaliers and Badgers are 5-0 on the season headed into today’s final.