COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Scarlet and Gray team was pushed to the brink on Sunday but some timely shots, a hot fourth quarter and Jared Sullinger being Jared Sullinger was enough to propel the team on to an 82-73 win over The Matadors (Texas Tech alumni) in second round action at The Basketball Tournament (TBT) and into the second weekend in Atlanta.

Sullinger was as dominant as any player in the tournament with 28 points and 20 rebounds in a winning effort. David Lighty had 15 points including the game winning bucket on an alley-oop from Jon Diebler. Diebler had 12 points of his own along with Aaron Craft.

The Scarlet and Gray team trailed at the end of the first, second and third quarters as the Matadors team would not go away. Scoonie Penn's team shot a dismal 32-percent in the first half while the Matadors shot almost 54-percent. The Scarlet and Gray would bounce back in the second half and shoot almost 61-percent from the floor in the second frame.

"All the credit goes to these guys on the court, they did their job," Penn said. "Hats off to the Matadors, the Texas Tech guys, they played hard, that was a good team."

One of the biggest plays of the game came late in the second quarter when Quincy Diggs was ejected after an altercation involving Sullinger. That changed the makeup of the Matadors team as Diggs never really was a factor before that with only two points in 13 minutes of action.

"I think we got a little fortunate for their misfortune with No. 13 getting kicked out of the game, but he did it, so he deserved it," Penn said.

The gym at Capital University had a significant Buckeye feel and the crowd was a lift for the team in both games over the weekend.

"Coming in the gym yesterday, I think we all knew it was going to be full," Craft said. "I did not realize how excited it was going to make me to be able to do that again because you just don’t think you are going to have the opportunity once school is out."

Sullinger was the difference maker for the Scarlet and Gray team and seemed to be in the right place at the right time, even if the Matadors did not want to give up ground and let Sullinger find room in the paint.

"Jared Sullinger is a beast, controlling the boards and an inside and we had (Aaron) Craft leading from the top and pressuring guys," Penn said. "All of our guys did a good job."

There were some moments in the game where the Scarlet and Gray team could not buy a shot and the team had to adjust. William Buford struggled for much of the game and went 3-15 from the floor but did hit a pair of big threes late in the game. It is just about finding the guy who has the momentum.

"I just think with the group of guys that we have and the way we play, we just understood who had the hot hand and who didn't," Sullinger said. "When Diebler hit those two threes, the ball is going to find Diebler. When Will hits a couple of shots, the ball is going to find Will. We just go with the hot hand, we don't have any egos around here, whoever has it, has it. If you don't, play defense."

Scarlet and Gray finished the day shooting just 45-percent, a very different story than game one of the tourney.

"For the most part we did not shoot the ball well and we know we can do better than that," Penn said. "We relied on our defense and it got us to a win."

There was a notable omission from the roster on Sunday with Byron Mullens not in the building. Penn updated his status.

"Byron had some personal stuff that he had to handle," Penn said. "We all have lives outside of basketball and that comes first, we understand that, and this is a game, although we are playing for two-million dollars, things happen."

Scarlet and Gray ended the day with the exclamation point of the alley-oop from Deibler to Lighty and the team was full of smiles after the game. There will be even more excitement next week when the team adds another key piece with the addition of Greg Oden. There is question however if Sullinger will be part of the team moving forward with rumors that he could be getting married next week.

"We got some things in the works," Penn said cryptically. "We are not going to show our hand, but the big fella is playing."

This is a different world than when everyone lived on campus and had to make their way to Value City Arena to play their games with everyone playing across the world and having busy lives.

"This is not college where guys are required to go to class and live on campus, guys have got families and lives outside of basketball, so a lot sometimes trumps basketball in the summertime," Penn said.

The Scarlet and Gray team will take on the winner of the Big X vs. Primetime Players in Atlanta next weekend in the round of 16.