The 7,165 fans who turned out for the opening night of the Tournament of Champions saw nothing but blow-outs for the first three games of the event as no final score was closer than 21 points.
But for those who stuck around for the final game that started at 9:30 p.m., they witnessed the shocker of the tourney so far as one of only two Springfield schools in the T of C, Kickapoo, knocked off United Faith Christian Academy of Charlotte, North Carolina.
UFCA was nationally ranked earlier this season and won the Class A state championship in North Carolina last year by beating Word of God Academy of Raleigh, North Carolina, who featured John Wall, the 2009 Tournament of Champions MVP who's considered the best college player in the country right now at the University of Kentucky with a promising future in the NBA.
Kickapoo didn't have John Wall, but they led virtually the entire game as junior forward Brodie Wingert poured in over 20 points to lead the way. The Chiefs led 36-30 at the half and expanded that lead to as many as 12 points on a bucket by Ryan Rippee, the son of head coach Dick Rippee.
United star Ian Miller, one of the top rated seniors in the country who's headed for Florida St., brought the Falcons back within three in the final 16 seconds, but down the stretch Kickapoo made 6 of 8 free throws to secure a 71-67 victory for one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. A result that Chief fans won't soon forget.
And as Wingert replied when asked where this win ranks in his personal memory, "It's number one!"
