A team of Division III all-stars was not able to shock the top seed in the Wichita bracket of The Basketball Tournament, as We Are D3 was eliminated 83-52 on Friday night.

• Boxscore (courtesy of TBT)
• Listen to We are D3 Coach Rejniak on the Q-Cast

The Basketball Tournament is a 64-team, single-elimination tournament played across eight regions. We Are D3 was participating for the fourth time and, as usual, drew a very tough first round opponent. This time, We Are D3 had the lowest seed in the Wichita bracket and played the top-seed AfterShocks, a team of former Division I Wichita State players, in front of an energized home crowd.

Those fans had plenty to cheer, early and often.

The AfterShocks opened the game on a 7-0 run with a three-pointer followed by two baskets off We Are D3 backcourt turnovers. The former Shockers pushed the lead to 13-0 before former North Park All-American Jordan Robinson converted two free throws to put the D3 squad on the scoreboard. Robinson also had the team’s first field goal, hitting a three-pointer midway through the first quarter at which point the AfterShocks already led 17-5.

The AfterShocks closed the first quarter with a 21-7 lead and outscored the Division III squad 16-0 in the paint during that period

In the second quarter, Arik Smith (Cal Lutheran) got We Are D3 started with a three-pointer that trimmed the deficit to 21-10. But We Are D3 did not score for the next five minutes and the AfterShocks pushed their lead up to 30-10 on a wide-open put-back layup with 3:59 to play in the first half.

Late in that period, former Gordon College sharpshooter Eric Demers sparked a mini-rally with a layup, a behind-the-back pass to Bobby Hawkinson (New York University) to set up another score, and a three-point play that pulled the Division III all-stars within 35-19. But Tyrus McGee squelched the momentum with a buzzer-beating three just inside the halfcourt line, sending the AfterShocks into the locker room with a 38-19 lead.

We Are D3 struck first to start the second half with a Hawkinson free throw and another Smith three-pointer. That 15-point deficit (38-23) was the closest We Are D3 would get the rest of the game. The AfterShocks responded with a three-pointer, a free throw and an alley-oop dunk to push their advantage back to 44-23. A 13-2 run put the AfterShocks up 59-30 in the final minutes of the third period and effectively put the game out of reach.

Adam Fravert (UW-Oshkosh) and Daniel Rosenbaum (Pomona-Pitzer) added some highlights with a two-hand jam and deep three during the fourth quarter. The AfterShocks led comfortably throughout the final quarter and closed the game on two made three throws under the Tournament’s Elam Ending finish.

We Are D3 shot 19 for 67 from the field (28%) and 6 for 35 (17%) from three. The team fared better on the glass than last year, getting outrebounded by just one (41-40), despite the size disadvantage. But the AfterShocks shot 73 percent from inside the arc (25 for 34) and more than doubled We Are D3’s points in the paint (46-22).

Robinson led We Are D3 in scoring with 11 points on 4 for 17 shooting while Rosenbaum scored 10 points by making both of his field goal attempts and four free throws. Fravert led the team with seven rebounds.

Despite the loss, We Are D3 did not leave the event empty handed.

Demers, who went 0 for 8 from three on Friday night, hit all 11 of his shots in Thursday night’s three-point contest and won the event. He advances to the finals to be held in Dayton, Ohio at the end of the Tournament.