The Portsmouth Invitational tipped off Wednesday night in Portsmouth, Va., with former Minnesota guard Blake Hoffarber and the K&D Rounds Landscaping team facing off against Sales System Ltd.
Hoffarber got off to a rough start, missing his only three shot attempts of the first half — all three-pointers — and dishing one assist in his 11 minutes of playing time.
The second half fared better for Hoffarber, however, as he made 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and dished three more assists in nine minutes of action. Most importantly, he came up in the clutch by hitting two free-throws with nine seconds left in the contest to help his team a 78-74 come from behind victory.
The leading scorer for Hoffarber’s team was Marquette small forward Jimmy Butler as he finished with 19 points. Syracuse big man Rick Jackson and Vlad Moldoveaunu of American University each finished with 13 points apiece.
For the opposing team, Pittsburgh guard Brad Wanaker scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds while while Washington forward Matt Bryan-Amaning finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
Hoffarber’s team next plays on Friday night against a team that features Montana center Brian Qvale.