The AfterShocks began their quest for a second straight The Basketball Tournament (TBT) championship in impressive fashion Monday night, rolling past The Enchantment 98-77 in the opening game of their best-of-three first-round series at Charles Koch Arena.
The defending champions took control early, building a 26-10 lead after the first quarter before extending the advantage to 48-22 by halftime. Wichita State alumni standout Corey Washington led the balanced offensive attack with 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while OJ Peterson added 18 points. Returning TBT MVP Marcus Keene finished with 16 points, including four consecutive three-pointers during a second-quarter scoring burst that helped put the game out of reach.
Keene said he was excited to play in front of the Wichita crowd again and wanted to show fans the team is ready to make another championship run. Head coach Zach Bush emphasized that his team knows another title won't come easy and is focused on earning every win.
The AfterShocks can clinch the series when they face The Enchantment again at 8 p.m. Thursday at Koch Arena. A victory would send Wichita State's alumni team into the next best-of-three round against the winner of the JHX Hoops (Kansas alumni) and Purple Reign (Kansas State alumni) series.
