La Familia center Willie Cauley-Stein blocks Boheim’s Army guard Tyson Walker during the second round of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) at Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, July 26, 2026. La Familia won 70-66. Isabella Sepahban/The Watchdog

The Cardiac Cats delivered again as Kahlil Whitney’s game-winning dunk lifted La Familia to a 70-66 win over Boeheim’s Army and a spot in the alumni championship of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) at Historic Memorial Coliseum.

La Familia reached the semifinal after a dramatic three-game series against rivals The Ville, with Kentucky claiming the opening game 72-68 and The Ville winning game two 82-62. Game three would be decided in Lexington.

After missing the first two games, Archie Goodwin returned to the lineup to make an immediate impact for La Familia.

The Ville took control early after a slow offensive start from La Familia with a 21-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Cardinals maintained the lead going into halftime despite mounting pressure from La Familia.

Kentucky’s alumni came out swinging in the second half with a 16-4 run, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Goodwin and Darryl Morsell to give La Familia the lead 33-32.

Goodwin sank another 3-pointer to start the fourth, but The Ville’s Chris Jones matched it with a 3-pointer of his own to keep the score within five. The Cardinals started to claw back before another Goodwin 3-pointer gave La Familia a 55-51 lead as the Elam Ending began.

With the target score set at 63, both teams raced for the finish line. A 3-pointer from Montrezl Harrell tied the game up 57-57, but that would be the last point of the night for The Ville.

A Morsell bucket and two from Goodwin were all it took for La Familia to secure the win, knock The Ville out of TBT and move on to the next round.

Goodwin was a clear missing piece that La Familia needed to take home the win.

“Fresh legs are the biggest thing. We needed fresh legs,” La Familia Head Coach Jon Hood said after the game.

La Familia’s Kahlil Whitney, left, celebrates with Archie Goodwin after winning the second round of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) at Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, July 26, 2026. La Familia won 70-66. Isabella Sepahban/The Watchdog

Goodwin said his absence in the last two games was brought on by a desire to spend more time with his family after returning from playing overseas.

“I have a seven-year-old son that I didn’t see for 10 months,” Goodwin said. “My time that I have, I wanted to dedicate to him and show him how much he is loved and how much I support him because it’s hard to do it on FaceTime all the time.”

Four days later, the Cardiac Cats were in another nail-biter.

La Familia got off to a hot start, taking a 13-5 lead just 2:34 into the game, extending it to as much as 17-5, but Boeheim’s Army wouldn’t retreat that easily.

Kentucky’s alumni created more separation, only for Syracuse to continue to claw back until halftime hit with La Familia in front 39-36.

Goodwin built off of his 22-point previous game with 17 in the first half, and Boeheim’s Army guard Ty Nichols was key for the Orange, leading with 18 in the first half.

A Willie Cauley-Stein alley-oop dunk to start the second half put fans on their feet, but multiple missed shots allowed Syracuse to take the lead for the first time of the game.

Whitney brought some momentum back to La Familia with a thundering block, but Kentucky still trailed 52-48 going into the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats kept it close as the back-and-forth contest continued into the Elam Ending with Boeheim’s Army leading 61-58 and the target score was set at 69.

James Mainor-Bell nailed a crucial 3-pointer to cut the deficit down to two and a Cauley-Stein free throw and Goodwin jumper were enough to give the Wildcats the lead.

Syracuse kept it close, but a haunting turnover from Nichols allowed for a Whitney putback dunk to seal the 70-66 win for La Familia.

Goodwin led once again with 30 points while Morsell had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

The victory continues the theme of close games for La Familia as they move on to the alumni championship back at home on Wednesday, July 29, and face the winner of AfterShocks (Wichita State alumni) and JHX Hoops (Kansas alumni).