Cougar Hardwood Classic
SEATTLE, Wash. --- The University of Portland will play the Washington State Cougars in the sixth annual Cougar Hardwood Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash. It marks the second high-profile game in the Northwest within a week for the Pilots, who will host the University of Kentucky on Friday, Nov. 19 at the Rose Garden in Portland.
The meeting will be the 12th overall between the two teams from the Northwest. WSU holds a 9-2 all-time series advantage over Portland, with the Cougars winning 62-50 in their last meeting in 2006. The series dates back as far as 1938.
Head coach Eric Reveno and the Pilots are coming off of back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in school history after matching a Division I school record with 21 wins last season, including signature victories against UCLA, Minnesota, Oregon and Saint Mary’s. Portland has appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) each of the last two years.
The Pilots return six lettermen to the 2010-11 squad, including All-West Coast Conference honorable mention seniors Jared Stohl and Luke Sikma. Stohl was the NCAA leader in three-point field goal percentage last season (.478), while Sikma was the WCC leader in field goal percentage (.563) and is the league’s top returning rebounder (7.5). Both Stohl and Sikma were standout high school players in the Seattle area playing for Marysville-Pilchuck and Bellevue High School, respectively.
Portland welcomes seven freshmen and a junior college transfer to the program this year, including Washington All-State honorees Tanner Riley (Mount Si HS) and Ryan Nicholas (Gonzaga Prep).
WSU finished last year with a 16-15 overall record under first-year head coach Ken Bone, who joined the Cougars after leading Portland State to two NCAA appearances. Bone returns all five starters and nine lettermen from last year’s squad.
Junior Klay Thompson averaged 19.6 points per game in route to being named to the All-Pacific -10 Conference First Team last season. The Wooden Award candidate led the Cougars to the Great Alaska Shootout Championship by scoring a tournament single-game record 43 points.
Washington State is 5-0 all time in Cougar Harwood Classics games. Last season WSU defeated LSU 72-70 in overtime in front of a record crowd of 15,341. WSU has scored victories over Montana State, The Citadel, San Diego State and Utah in the other four Cougar Hardwood Classic games.
Tickets for the 2010 Cougar Hardwood Classic will go on sale Saturday, Sept. 18 and may be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets and at the KeyArena box office. To order tickets by phone, call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.
