Mass Street blew open the game in the Elam Ending to sail to the Wichita regional final with a 76-59 victory over Florida TNT in the second round of the TBT at Charles Koch Arena Monday night. Florida led after the first nine minutes, but Mass Street took command by outscoring Florida 24-16 in the second to take a six-point lead at the half. Florida cut the deficit to four heading into the final frame and had 15 offensive rebounds in the game while former UCF forward Keith Clanton led the way with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in defeat, but Mass Street closed the game on a 9-0 run in the Elam Ending to survive and advance. Lagerald Vick led Mass Street with 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the arc while Dedric Lawson added his own double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds with five assists.
The AfterShocks couldn’t set up the dream matchup though as the top-seeded home team blew an 11-point second-half lead to Team Colorado 65-61 in the nightcap. The Shocks led the entire first 18 minutes but never built the lead to double digits as Team Colorado closed the half on an 8-0 run to make it 33-32 AfterShocks going into the break. The AfterShocks responded with a 12-0 run early in the third quarter to lead by 11, but Team Colorado answered with a 13-2 run to tie the game at 46 before taking a 3-point lead to the Elam Ending. The AfterShocks cut the deficit to one twice but a DShawn Schwartz kick-out three-ball off an offensive rebound sealed the upset. Markis McDuffie and Jeremiah Martin each led the AfterShocks with 17 points. It is the earliest departure from the TBT for the ‘Shocks since 2019. Mass Street will face Team Colorado for the regional title on Wednesday.
