By Rachel Payne
Former Titan Basketball player Brendon Merritt and the 2002 Titan Men’s Basketball Team are being inducted into the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College (NWAACC) Hall of Fame in Bellevue on May 30. Brendon Merritt played for the Titans from 1999-2001. TCC Career highlights include:
· 2000 1st team All West Region
· 2001 1st team All-West Region
· 2001 1st team All-NWAACC Tournament
· Led 2000 team to a 30-4 record and 4th place NWAAC Tournament finish
· Led 2001 team to a 28-5 record including a 25 game win streak and a 2nd place NWAACC Tournament finish
Merritt went on to play at NCAA DI Eastern Washington University, where he was a 2-time All Big Sky selection and led the Eagles to the 2003 NIT tournament and the 2004 Big Sky Tournament. Named Most Valuable player, he led the Eagles to their only NCAA Tournament. After college he played professionally in Switzerland and Sweden.
2002 Men’s Basketball Team
Season highlights for the 2002 Titan Men’s Basketball Team include:
· 2002 NWAACC Men’s Basketball Champions, with double figure winning margins in every NWAAC Tournament game
· 30-3 season record, with winning margin of more than 23 points per game
· Won the West Region Championship with a 15-1 record
· Team member Josh Barsh named NWAACC Tournament MVP
· Team members Khary Nicholas and Fabrizio Mendiola named All Tournament.
· Team member Calvin Ento named All Region.
· Team members Fabrizio Mendiola and Josh Barsh named All Region.
· Head Coach Carl Howell named NWAACC Coach and Region Coach of the year.
“One of only a handful of teams win 30 games and a NWAACC championship in the same season,” said Head Coach Carl Howell.
Nine of the team’s 12 players went on to play 4-year college basketball.