The $1 million The Basketball Tournament (TBT) prize won’t be coming to Wichita.

The one-seeded AfterShocks, Wichita State’s team of primarily alumni, were knocked out of TBT in a tightly-contested Regional semifinal game on Monday against fifth-seeded Team Colorado, 65-61.

The Aftershocks’ head coach, Zach Bush, said the loss felt “sickening.” The loss is the earliest the team has been eliminated in TBT play since 2019.

“It’s a weird feeling,” Bush said. “(It) makes you feel sick, (it) makes you feel bad for the guys … I want to spend more time with them. I want to stay here and keep being with them, so that part really sucks.”

After forward Darral Willis Jr. opened up the game for the AfterShocks in the first quarter with a second-chance layup, both teams scrapped and threw haymakers for the remainder of the period. The AfterShocks took a narrow 18-15 lead at the quarter’s end with the help of two consecutive three-pointers made by forward Rashard Kelly, who traveled from DC during the day to be able to play in the game.

The game’s intensity carried into the second quarter as each team fought for the lead. With 5:21 left in the quarter, forward Markis McDuffie made a jump shot to put the AfterShocks up 26-17. Team Colorado outscored the AfterShocks 16-6 in the final five minutes of the quarter, taking a 33-32 halftime lead.

Coming out of halftime with the crowd behind them, the AfterShocks suffocated Team Colorado, forcing three straight turnovers at the start of the third quarter. Guard Jeremiah Martin, Kelly and McDuffie supplemented the offense as the AfterShocks took an 11-point, 44-33 lead after McDuffie converted an and-one free throw attempt with 5:00 left in the quarter, the largest lead by either team.

The AfterShocks didn’t allow a single point in the third quarter until 3:30 was left on the clock as Team Colorado made their first shot, cutting the AfterShocks’ lead to 44-35. As the third quarter ended, the AfterShocks led 46-41.

In the final period, Team Colorado flipped the script and took control, going on an 11-0 run that lasted the first 2:26 of the quarter. Martin broke Team Colorado’s run with two made free throws  and later narrowed the margin back to four, 55-51, after converting an and-one attempt in response to a Team Colorado three-pointer.

With 4:03 remaining in regulation, McDuffie cut Team Colorado’s lead to two points, 57-55 after making a couple of free throws following a steal by guard Conner Frankamp on the defensive end. As regulation ended, the Elam Ending was set at the target score of 65.

Team Colorado quickly drained a three-pointer and Martin answered with two consecutive layups, bringing the AfterShocks within one point, 60-59. Team Colorado made another shot and forward Trey Wade answered with a layup after a block by Kelly on the defensive end to keep the AfterShocks alive.

A Team Colorado three-pointer by D’Shawn Schwartz was the dagger to decide the final score.

After the game, Bush gave nothing but credit to Team Colorado’s effort.

“They’re a really good team,” Bush said. “They defend well; they kind of remind me of us. They’re smart, they don’t beat themselves, they don’t make dumb turnovers.” 

Team Colorado will face Mass Street, a Kansas University alumni team, in the TBT Wichita Regional final on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.