AfterShocks defeat Air Raiders with lowest TBT crowd attendance at Koch Arena since 2019
After a sweeping 83-52 defeat of We Are D3 on Friday night, the No. 1 seeded AfterShocks, Wichita State’s alumni team, took on the No. 4 seeded Air Raiders, Texas Tech’s alumni team, Saturday evening.
The Basketball Tournament is an annual tournament that is primarily made up of different basketball teams’ college alumni, that compete for the chance to win $1 million.
In a close game, the AfterShocks defeated the Air Raiders, 70-60.
Conner Frankamp was the star of the game, scoring a total of 21 points. Close behind, Darral Willis Jr. went five-for-six in his shooting, accumulating 16 points for the AfterShocks.
“My teammates help me a lot with, set good screens, stuff like that,” Frankamp said.
Head Coach Zach Bush credited much of the team’s success to the selflessness of the players.
“I think the more unselfish we are, the more we move the ball, we get to the paint . . . the harder (we are) to guard,” Bush said.
Bush said the addition of James Dickey – a UNC Greensboro graduate – helped the team. Dickey was effective again on Saturday, scoring seven points and tallying a team-high 10 rebounds.
“He’s a presence on defense,” Bush said. “He’s so talented and pushes the ball, and I think his biggest attribute is just his mind. He’s so intelligent. He always seems to make the right play. He’s always in the right spot.”
Dickey, who has played professionally the last few years, said that playing for the AfterShocks has been an amazing experience.
“I watched Wichita State so much as a child and as an early teenager, and I’ve always enjoyed and love this atmosphere,” Dickey said. “When I got the opportunity to play with these guys, I hopped on it.”
This is Wichita State’s third time hosting a TBT regional. When they hosted for the first time in 2019, Wichita broke the TBT attendance record for four days in a row, bringing in 20,000 fans to Koch Arena.
In 2021, the event returned with similar success. Wichita recorded the second highest single-game attendance (6,500), as the AfterShocks advanced to their first-ever TBT quarterfinals.
This year, AfterShocks is only one win away from making it to the quarterfinals; however, Friday’s match-up with We Are D3 only saw 4,788 in attendance. Saturday night, the number was even fewer: 3,354.
“It’s hard to win when the seats aren’t filled,” Bush said. “You guys give us such an advantage, so let’s show up. We’re gonna fill this whole place with yellow.”
The AfterShocks will go head-to-head with Bleed Green, North Texas’s alumni team, on Monday at 8 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
If the AfterShocks win, they will advance to the quarterfinals against the Gutter Cat Gang on Wednesday evening.
Tickets for the games can be purchased at http://goshockers.com/tickets.
Mia Hennen is the current editor in chief for The Sunflower. Before becoming editor, Hennen was the news/managing editor. They are a junior at Wichita...
