Seems like old times: UNM greats face NMSU greats at The Pit

Lobo basketball fans, coming your way is a tournament in The Pit made for you.

Maybe more so, if you enjoy seeing UNM facing New Mexico State on the hardwood.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) – the $1 million, winner-take-all summer basketball event broadcast live on ESPN networks – announced the bracket for this year’s tournament.

 The Enchantment, the UNM alumni team, will serve as the featured team for one of eight regionals, and welcome seven teams that will compete for the chance to advance. The games, played July 18-21, will be played at The Pit.

 The Enchantment, the fourth seed in the New Mexico Regional, will be coached by former Lobo star and NBA veteran Kenny Thomas (1995-99).

The Enchantment’s roster includes:

• J.R. Giddens (2006-08)
• Roman Martinez (2006-10)
• Dairese Gary (2007-11)
• Phillip McDonald (2008-12)
• Darington Hobson (2009-10)
• Jamal Fenton (2009-13)
• Drew Gordon (2010-12)
• Cleveland “Pancake” Thomas (2012-14)
• Joe Furstinger (2014-18)
• Elijah Brown (2015-17)
• Anthony Mathis (2015-19)
• Scott Bamforth (former Del Norte High star who played at Weber State)

The Enchantment will take on the NMSU team, the fifth-seeded Panamaniacs, in a first-round game on Monday, July 18, at 8 p.m. The winner will advance to the second round to face the winner of the No. 1 seed Team Heartfire and 8 seed Competitive Choice on July 19 at 7 p.m.

The New Mexico Regional championship game is set for July 21 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

The winner of the New Mexico Regional will head to Dayton, Ohio, for Championship Week at UD Arena July 28-Aug. 2.

Here come the Aggies

Panamaniacs – taken from the Pan American Center the Aggies play their home games in — will be coached by NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia.

The Panamaniacs roster includes:

• Justin Hawkins (2006-08)
• JahmarYoung (2007-10)
• Wendell McKines(2007-12)
• J. West (2009-13)
• DK Eldridge (2013-15)
• Ian Baker (2013-17)
• Braxton Huggins (2014-17)
• Jonathon Wilkins (2014-18)
• Zach Lofton(2017-18)
• Terrell Brown (2018-20)
• Evan Gilyard II (2019-21)
• Johnny McCants (2017-22)

The rest of the region is made up of:
1 seed Team Heartfire: Coached by former NBA veteran and current ESPN college basketball analyst LaPhonso Ellis

2 seed Team Challenge ALS: Coached by 13-year NBA veteran Darren Collison, Challenge ALS plays to raise money for ALS research.

3 seed L.A. Cheaters: A Los Angeles based team known for competing in the prominent pro-am the Drew League.

6 seed Ram Up: A Colorado State alumni team featuring former 15-year NBA veteran Jason Smith.

7 seed Once A Bronco: A first-year Boise State alumni team competing in TBT for the first time.

8 seed Competitive Choice: A first-year TBT team based in Houston that secured their spot in the field via buy-in.

TV broadcast information will be announced soon.
Tickets for all TBT game days and events are on sale at thetournament.com. For more information, contact [email protected].