Tacoma Men's Basketball Fights to the Final Four

March 11, 2017



The first game of the NWAC Men's Basketball Championships Elite 8 was played by the Peninsula Pirates and Tacoma Titans. The Pirates started out strong scoring the first 13 points in the game behind freshman guard Jalon McCullough (12pts) and sophomore guard Omar Lo (8 pts). It took until almost 6 minutes in until Tacoma scored its first basket, and just as Tacoma did the day before against #1 North Idaho, they erased a double digit deficit just before half to bring it within single digits, 36 - 29.

Khalil Thompson had scored 28 points the day prior against North Idaho, but was held scoreless in the first half against Peninsula. Dayton Pascua led Tacoma with 9 points in the first half keeping the Titans within reach.

The second half started out with better play on the defensive side of the ball for Tacoma, and sharper passing and ball movement allowed for the Titans to take their first lead midway through the second half. Ravion Bell recorded 4 blocks, combined with 5 steals from Khalil Thompson and Eskari Carter helped elevate the Titans down the stretch.

Peninsula pushed Tacoma late in the second half, cutting the lead to one (55 - 54) with less than five minutes left in the game. Khalil Thompson scored all 20 of his points in the second half, leading all scorers, largely contributing to the 75 - 64 TCC Titans victory.

Khalil Wyatt added 15 points and 14 rebounds, continuing his double-double average in the tournament (18.5 pts, 13.5 reb, 44% from the field, 75% from 3-point range). Ravion Bell continues to contribute close to double-double numbers as well chipping in 9 points and 14 rebounds, averaging 9 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks for the tournament.

Tacoma was the first to punch a ticket to the Final Four, taking on Umpqua on Saturday, March 18th at 6 PM in Everett. This is the first Final Four for Tacoma since their 2012 NWAC Championship.