Two Former Blue Devils to Play in TBT 2019

A pair of former Central Connecticut men's basketball standouts will play in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) 2019. Former Blue Devils, Keith Closs and Ken Horton will play in the event. Closs will be on the LA Cheaters roster, while Horton will be part of Team Fredette.The TBT is a 64-team tournament competing for a $2 million prize and will be televised on ESPN.  

Closs and Horton will play in the Salt Lake City Regional from July 25-27 in games at the Maverik Center. Closs and the LA Cheaters will be seeded No. 5 and face 4th-ranked Sons of Westwood on Thursday, July 25 at 6:50 p.m. Eastern. Horton and Team Fredette are the No. 3 seed and will play CitiTeam Blazers at 10:30 p.m. Eastern on July 25. 

The teams that win in the opening round will play on Friday, July 26, in the regional semifinals. The regional final will be held on July 27 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. The TBT's 64 teams will compete at eight Regional sites over the final two weekends in July, with the Regional winners advancing to Championship Week in Chicago Aug. 1-6. TBT will culminate with a winner-take-all game for $2 million at Wintrust Arena on Aug. 6.

Closs played two seasons for the Blue Devils and led the NCAA in blocked shots in both 1994-95 (5.3 bpg) and 1995-96 (6.4 bpg). He averaged 11.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, while setting an NCAA career record with 5.87 blocks per game. Closs spent three seasons with the LA Clippers (1997-2000) and averaged 3.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 1.3 bpg. The Cheaters are an original Drew League squad and coached by Casper Ware Sr. Casper Ware Jr. is on the roster and had a stint with the Sixers in 2014. The team also includes former Nets and Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Williams, who brings 215 games of NBA experience.

Horton has played professionally overseas since leaving CCSU as the program's all-time leading scorer. He scored 1,966 career points and was a three-time All-Northeast Conference honoree, including being named Player of the Year in 2010-11, and was a member of the All-Rookie Team as a freshman. He is currently playing with Germani Basket Brescia in Italy. He has also played in France, Mexico and Cyprus. Team Fredette is coached by former BYU head coach Dave Rose, while TJ Fredette is an assistant. The roster includes BYU all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws, Darington Hobson, who played at New Mexico and spent time with the Bucks, along with former Xavier standout Tu Holloway.

For more information and schedule for the 2019 TBT click here.