The AfterShocks are now one win away from securing The Basketball Tournament’s (TBT) $1 million bag.
It’s the closest the team of Wichita State alumni — and TBT mainstay since 2019 — has been to earning the seven-figure payday.
After four straight victories in the tournament over the last two weeks, the AfterShocks added a fifth Thursday night in TBT’s semifinals with a 66-54 win against We Are D3, a team composed of former NCAA Division III players.
The best part about Thursday’s win? The AfterShocks have the luxury of hosting the championship game in front of a Koch Arena crowd that has proven to create a true home-court advantage.
That game will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, against Eberlein Drive in the Roundhouse.
“Man, like the energy is contagious,” guard James Woodard said about how the crowd has impacted games. “They push us to victory every time. Even when it’s like low, dull moments, like their energy feeds us. We’re just grateful to be hosting (the championship) and we just have to carry this energy into the championship game.”
The AfterShocks looked out of sorts for the first three minutes of the game, and it wasn’t until midway through the second quarter that they took full control.
That’s when they went on multiple double-digit scoring runs to break open a 35-17 lead at halftime.
Center Marcus Santos-Silva intercepted a pass at midcourt during an 11-0 run, dribbled into the lane and hit his defender with a spin move for an easy lay-in that forced We Are D3 to burn a timeout. Guard Conner Frankamp then made back-to-back steals, but the AfterShocks could only capitalize on one, as Frankamp dished it to guard Marcus Keene for another easy layup and a 10-point advantage, 25-15.
With a minute left in the half, Frankamp and Keene both made shots that erupted the home crowd at the tail end of another 10-0 run. Frankamp received a pass from beyond the arc and drained a triple to balloon the AfterShocks’ cushion to 16 points. Keene then converted on a finger-roll layup as the clock in the first half expired to take an 18-point advantage at the break.
“I felt like, early, we came out a little sluggish and weren’t able to get the crowd into the game,” AfterShocks head coach Zach Bush said. “Then when you go on that run, you’re really able to. It feels like our guys, as they go on that run, they get a little hungrier and start making even more of the right plays. It fueled us and gave us a little bit of separation.”
But it wasn’t just the offense and crowd noise that created the massive runs for the AfterShocks in the second. The defense and toughness were the sparkplug. During the quarter, they made six steals, pulled down as many defensive rebounds and allowed just five points the entire nine minutes. The AfterShocks forced 12 of We Are D3’s 15 turnovers in the first half.
“If you get stops and create those easy opportunities,” Bush said. “I think it just gets everybody into a little bit better flow.”
We Are D3 didn’t back down out of halftime, as they whittled the AfterShocks’ lead to nine points by the end of the third quarter, 47-38. The AfterShocks only made five shots during the period, compared to We Are D3’s seven makes and four free throws.
A Keene 3-pointer gave the AfterShocks a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, but We Are D3 cut the lead to nine once again, 58-49, headed into the Elam Ending with the target score set at 66.
The AfterShocks’ lead was cut to eight, 62-54, during the Elam Ending, but a Woodard 3-pointer set up the final basket. And once again, it was Keene who delivered it.
After a play, a We Are D3 player shoved Keene, which resulted in a technical foul and Keene free throw. Instead of letting tempers boil over, he stood cool and calm and went to the charity stripe without further argument. He drained the untimed shot and held his follow-through for the cameras — marking the AfterShocks’ first TBT championship game berth.
“I think it showed a lot of class about him as a person,” Bush said. “It’s a cheap shot for that to happen, and to not turn around and react but just go the other way. The first thing he said was, ‘I’m fine. Let’s go. I want to shoot the free throw. Let’s get out of here, like it is what it is.’ (I’m) proud of that.”
Woodard ended the night with a team-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers, including the shot that would set up Keene’s free throw.
“It can be anybody’s game,” Woodard said. “We’re all pros. Today was my day. I just hit the shots.”
With the championship matchup set, Bush said the AfterShocks will have to pull out their best effort of the tournament Sunday against Eberlein Drive.
“High-class players, high-quality players,” he said. “Gabe York is an unbelievable guard for them — just, you could go down the line. They’re really high quality, it’ll be the best team we’ve played.”
