TCC Downs #1 North Idaho in Sweet 16

Khalil Thompson & Kahiel Wyatt discuss @tacomacchoops stunning victory over #1-ranked North Idaho #NWACmbb pic.twitter.com/8yp5t3QDV8

- NWAC (@NWACSports) March 9, 2017

The first day of the NWAC Championships (Sweet-16) was an eventful, exciting and lively day to say the least. Three of the four #1 seeds in the tournament all lost to #4 seeds. One game in particular that stood out as a true David and Goliath story was the TCC Titans (16-13) taking down the #1 overall North Idaho Cardinals (25-5) by a score of 86 - 81, in what is arguably the biggest upset in NWAC Championships history.

No one gave TCC a chance! One of the great all-time wins @tacomacchoops and coaching performances by Coach Caughell and staff. #tccfamily https://t.co/ELiOzp1hMx

— Jason Prenovost (@JasonPrenovost) March 9, 2017

Right out of the gates, North Idaho jumped out to an eleven point lead (their largest lead of the game) to only be taken back by the Titans' numerous three pointers which led TCC to lead 47-42 at half. Khalil Thompson was unstoppable from the three point line and led TCC with 17 first-half points. Kahliel Wyatt also got rolling, offering a very important 11 points through timely shooting.

It seemed as though the Titans were going to have a hard time in the paint controlling Cardinals sophomore Zaequan Satterthwaite who shot 8/9 from the field and had 16 points at half. But coming out of the half, the team made some crucial adjustments to hold down Satterthwaite just enough as he shot 6/12 with 12 points in the second half.

The second half started out with multiple lead changes until the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run late in the half. Coach Caughell and his staff made timely adjustments which ultimately led to the Titans keeping their head up and making big plays on defense and making clutch threes in the last two minutes.

Khalil Thompson led the way scoring with 28 points, adding 4 assists. Kahliel Wyatt added a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds largely in part helping the Titans out rebound the Cardinals 47-38 with 17 of those coming on the offensive end.

Satterthwaite led the Cardinals with 28 points and 8 rebounds. Cardinals point guard Sam Dowd finished with 17 points and 9 assists.

Tacoma moves on to play Peninsula in the Elite 8 at 2pm tomorrow (Mar. 10).