Week 4 of BIG3 action came from Newark's Prudential Center and the players brought all the buckets in "Brick City." The day started with a dominant 3's Company win over the Ghost Ballers, followed by the Enemies coming from behind to beat Tri-State, 50-40.
Trilogy, facing an 0-3 hole, went up against the 3 Headed Monsters in a must-win matchup. Head coach Stephen Jackson touched on the keys toward a midseason turnaround in a pregame interview with Brian Scalabrine.
"We gotta know that we have to win every game out in order to put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs," Jackson said. "It has been done, but we gotta take it game-by-game."
But despite a 37-point masterclass by Newark native Isaiah Briscoe, the 3 Headed Monsters came back from a nine-point deficit and stunned Trilogy behind Jeff Teague's game-winning free throw. 3HM won 51-49 behind Teague's 17 points, in addition to No. 1 overall pick Brandon Moss' 15 points and seven rebounds. Shakur Juiston, another Newark native, chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds in 3HM's victory.
Here are the rest of the final scores and key takeaways from Week 4 of BIG3.
Week 4 final scores
- 3's Company 50, Ghost Ballers 27
- Enemies 50, Tri-State 40
- 3 Headed Monsters 51, Trilogy 49
- Triplets 51, Aliens 35
- Ball Hogs 51, Power 43
- Bivouac 50, Killer 3's 35
Isaiah Briscoe shows out for hometown crowd
Despite the loss, Trilogy still showed plenty of fight, and it was thanks in large part to Briscoe, who made history in his hometown. Briscoe's career-high 37 points surpassed a previous BIG3 best of 35 points set by Jarrett Jack in 2021 and tied by Ryan "Hezi God" Carter in 2023.
At halftime, Briscoe told Rachel DeMita, "I just wanted to come out here and get a win for the home crowd. Just be myself, play [and] have fun."
Though his performance ultimately wasn't enough, Briscoe still managed to be himself and get buckets any way he wanted. Following the 3HM win, Teague made sure to give Briscoe props while reminding him of the result.
"He's a hooper, but he lost," Teague told Scalabrine. "At the end of the day, he lost. But, [he's] a hooper, though. I always said that. I [have] liked him since he was in college."
Trilogy is now in an 0-4 hole with its postseason hopes diminishing with each loss. Still, Briscoe has proven to be a bright spot throughout the team's campaign, continuing to light the league up even if the results haven't gone his team's way. The 3 Headed Monsters, in contrast, improve to 2-2 on the season with a chance to get above .500 next Sunday.
3's Company's balanced attack
3's Company has gotten off to a 3-1 start because of the multiple scoring threats at their disposal. This week against the Ghost Ballers, rookie Nasir Core came up clutch once again with 15 points and five rebounds -- including consecutive clutch shots from midrange ffor a 50-27 win. 3's Company had three more double-digit scorers next to Core. Co-captain Michael Beasley tallied 12 points, four rebounds and one assist. Co-captain Mario Chalmers put up 11 points, five rebounds and one assist. Finally, Reggie Evans scored ten points along with nine rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Following the win, Chalmers told Scalabrine why Core was selected to join the team.
"Just the way he moves, the way he approaches the game, not a lot of people in his position [are] asked to pay attention to that, and it means something to him," Chalmers said. "So, it only made sense to give him a chance at this level and what he's doing."
Core called being in the BIG3 a "blessing," adding, "I just put the work in every day to make sure when I come on the floor, I give basketball the respect it deserves."
Can anyone stop the Enemies?
The Enemies are still one of two teams in the BIG3 with a perfect 4-0 record and are poised for another deep title run if things keep going according to plan. In their 50-40 win over Tri-State, Elijah Stewart led the way with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Jordan Crawford put up 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Big man Isaiah Austin was effective once again, ending the game with 11 points, two rebounds and one block. The Enemies staved off a hungry Tri-State squad led by Kevin Murphy's 25 points and ten rebounds, as well as Henry Sims's impressive line of 12 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one block.
When asked if the Enemies could be beat, Crawford responded with, "Nah, they're gonna have to send us to [Team USA] for real. They're gonna have to send us to the Olympics this summer!"
Crawford pulled double-duty Sunday as the Enemies' player-coach, as head coach Nick Young was unavailable.
"It's just about making sure everybody [feels] a part [of the team]," Crawford said. "Understand that they can shoot when they want, so that allows them to make the right play. So that's what we are, that's what the Enemies [are] all about."