Josh Goldfine, TBT Staff
DAYTON, Ohio – Americana for Autism has maintained for the past two weeks that its motivation is to play unselfishly and raise awareness for children afflicted with autism.
Now, the second-year TBT upstart will now close TBT on Tuesday night in the $1 million, winner-take-all championship game.
Isaiah Swann led all scorers with 18 points – including a three-pointer to open the Elam Ending, and Americana for Autism held on to defeat the AfterShocks in a 78-75 semi-final nailbiter.
“This is not for us,” said Swann. “This is for these kids with autism. They’ve got to deal with something bigger. It’s important. It means something.”
Nigel Johnson, whose three-pointer won TBT’s opening game at Rucker Park, scored 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting and reflected afterward on his first TBT appearance.
“I’ve always wanted to participate in [TBT,” said Johnson. “For me to be around these guys and have the opportunity to play for a $1 million, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Americana for Autism shot 55% from the field, including 47% (8-for-17) from beyond the arc.
Conner Frankamp led the scoring effort with 15 points for the AfterShocks, who are winless in TBT away from Wichita’s Koch Arena.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Watch the Game Highlights from Aftershocks vs. Autism Army, 07/30/2022 <a href=”https://t.co/6CEXohD5XP”>pic.twitter.com/6CEXohD5XP</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href=”https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1553501884513562624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>