DEKALB, Ill. – Former Northern Illinois University men's basketball player Xavier Silas began play in "The Basketball Tournament" on Thursday afternoon (July 9) as his "Overseas Elite" team defeated "Armored Athlete," 76-70, in the Round of 16 in Columbus, Ohio. 

Overseas Elite, the number two seed in the event, advances to the quarterfinals where it will face "Herd That," on Saturday, July 11 at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN. 

"The Basketball Tournament" is a $1 million, winner-take-all summer basketball event televised live on ESPN networks. This year's 24-team tournament is taking place July 4-14 under quarantine at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. All 23 games of the single-elimination tournament are being broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2. 

A two-year letterwinner at NIU (2009-11), Silas scored 1,072 as a Huskie, becoming just the third player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in two seasons (joining Jim Bradley and Kenny Battle). As a senior in 2010-11, Silas averaged 22.3 points per game, best in the MAC and seventh-best in the nation, while earning First Team All-MAC and First Team NABC District 14 honors.

For more information on "The Basketball Tournament" visit TheTournament.com.