AfterShocks headed for Game 3 after stunning TBT home loss to Enchantment
Three nights after the AfterShocks built a 36-point lead over the Enchantment, they found themselves trailing the same team by double-digits inside a stunned Koch Arena.
The expected encore had turned into an ambush.
What felt inevitable entering Thursday — another comfortable victory to clinch the best-of-three series — never materialized. The AfterShocks spent nearly the entire night waiting for their offense to awaken or their opponent to wilt.
Neither happened.
Vance Jackson buried seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points to propel the Enchantment to a stunning 74-68 victory, handing the defending champions just their third loss at Koch Arena in the last six summers.
Unlike the previous two, this one did not eliminate the AfterShocks from The Basketball Tournament. The new best-of-three format has offered them a reprieve — and one final chance to recover in a decisive Game 3 at 8 p.m. Friday.
Slow start offers an early warning
The warning signs appeared almost immediately.
The Enchantment silenced the crowd with an 11-2 start while the AfterShocks needed more than four minutes to make their first field goal, a Rashard Kelly 3-pointer. By the time the deficit reached 16-5, AfterShocks coach Zach Bush was forced to call timeout with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter.
The starting unit produced little energy or offensive rhythm. It took a spark from the bench to prevent the game from getting away early.
Q.J. Peterson knocked down a corner 3, Chaunce Jenkins finished two impressive drives and Peterson drilled another deep 3 against the Enchantment’s zone. The 10-1 burst pulled the AfterShocks within 17-15 by the end of the quarter.
It looked like the jolt they needed. Instead, it proved to be only a temporary reprieve.
Fourteen minutes into the game, the AfterShocks still trailed 30-24 and were shooting 32% from the floor. They led for only 14 seconds in the entire first half before the Enchantment carried a 34-33 advantage into the locker room.
The AfterShocks shot 35.5% in the half. Jackson, meanwhile, scored 17 points and made all four of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Every indication suggested the AfterShocks were fortunate to be within one. The assumption remained that they would eventually take control.
Turnovers fuel a stunning collapse
The AfterShocks briefly moved in front early in the second half, but the Enchantment responded rather than retreated.
A 15-0 run late in the third quarter transformed a three-point AfterShocks lead into a 57-45 deficit with 1:30 remaining. During the collapse, the AfterShocks came up empty on eight straight trips, missing six consecutive shots and committing three turnovers.
It was a jarring reversal from Monday. A team that had been ahead by 36 against this same opponent suddenly trailed by 12 on its home floor three days later.
A 5-0 spurt to close the third quarter cut the deficit to 57-50. The comeback gained momentum when the AfterShocks scored the first four points of the fourth, pulling within 57-54 and bringing the crowd back into the game.
Then three careless turnovers triggered another avalanche.
The AfterShocks gave the ball away three times in 39 seconds, fueling a 7-0 Enchantment run that restored the margin to 64-54. The sequence captured the larger problem: Every time the AfterShocks positioned themselves to seize the game, another empty possession or unforced mistake allowed the Enchantment to escape.
The AfterShocks committed an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers, which the Enchantment converted into 21 points. Conner Frankamp led the home team with 11 points and was its only player to reach double figures.
Vance Jackson silences Koch Arena
Even after their uneven performance, the AfterShocks still gave themselves a chance.
They cut the deficit to 66-62 by the start of the Elam Ending, which set a target score of 74. Marcus Santos-Silva immediately converted a three-point play to pull the AfterShocks within one.
Inside a building where the AfterShocks have manufactured so many dramatic finishes, another escape briefly felt possible.
Jackson erased that possibility.
The 6-foot-9 forward popped behind the arc and buried a 3-pointer. K.J. Jenkins followed with a jumper before Jackson delivered the final blow, sinking his seventh 3 of the game to bring the Enchantment to the target score on just three possessions and leave the crowd in stunned silence.
Jackson finished 8 of 10 from the field and 7 of 8 beyond the arc.
He played for New Mexico from 2018-20 and had competed at Koch Arena before, during the 2021-22 season when he averaged a career-high 13.1 points for East Carolina. On Thursday, he authored one of the finest shooting performances by an AfterShocks opponent in the building.
Jackson’s brilliance also underscored how completely the Enchantment had changed in three days.
After being embarrassed Monday, the New Mexico alumni team used its two days off to regroup. It played with greater purpose, weathered every AfterShocks push and displayed the resolve required to win in one of TBT’s most difficult road environments.
Defending champions face a decisive Game 3
The loss was bizarre not merely because of what happened Thursday, but because of how little it resembled Monday.
The AfterShocks went from threatening to win by 40 to trailing for virtually the entire rematch. Their first-half run did not wake them up. Neither did briefly taking the lead in the third quarter. Even their customary late rally was answered by an opponent that refused to repeat its opening-game collapse.
The Enchantment deserves credit for picking itself up after a lopsided defeat and delivering the necessary counterpunch. The AfterShocks now must prove they can do the same.
Thursday was supposed to be a celebration of another victory at Koch Arena. Instead, the defending champions squandered their margin for error and received a reminder that past dominance guarantees nothing in a tournament setting.
This story was originally published July 23, 2026 at 9:55 PM with the headline "AfterShocks headed for Game 3 after stunning TBT home loss to Enchantment."
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