NORTHWEST NOTES: Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Vandals open China tourney
with win over Lithuania
SUZHOU, China — The Idaho men’s basketball team began its summer trip to China with a 71-69 win over of Lithuania in the Atlas Challenge on Tuesday night. Pat Ingram came up huge for the Vandals, securing the win for the Vandals in the closing seconds.
Lithuania led 69-68 with 40 seconds to go. After failing to capitalize on the offensive end, the Vandals assumed they were forced to foul going the other way. However, Ingram slipped the gap on the Lithuania inbounds play with 16 seconds remaining, stealing the pass and going the length of the court to score the game-winner. He was fouled on the play and connected on his free throw to make the final 71-69.
Jordan Scott led the way for the Vandals with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. He connected on both of his 3-point attempts and went 1-of-2 from the line. Scott filled up the box score, tying for the team-lead with five rebounds and two assists.
Lithuania brought its National Team B to the Atlas Challenge to assess the second group of players ahead of the Rio Olympics. The squad primarily featured young talent that currently plays professionally throughout Europe but also included a handful of veterans, including Arvydas Eitutaviciu, who played for American University in the early 2000s.
Lithuania tried to exploit Idaho’s lack of experience with the international game through the 3-pointer, but the Vandals were ready. The extended 3-point line didn’t cause too many problems, as Idaho shot 42.1 percent (8 of 19) from beyond the arc. Lithuania, on the other hand, connected on just 11 of 36 (30.5 percent) from deep).
Idaho will face Iran today at 6 a.m. PDT. Iran took down Macedonia on Tuesday, using the team that will compete at the Olympic qualifier in July.
Spokane Indians announce
roster for opening day
SPOKANE — The Texas Rangers assigned 33 players to Spokane for the start of the Northwest League season, which opens Friday at Avista Stadium with the Indians hosting Vancouver.
Highlighting the roster is Texas Rangers No. 7 overall prospect and opening night starter, Michael Matuella, and six other players selected in the first 20 rounds of this year’s MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The Indians will receive a total of 12 players from the 2016 draft, including fourth-round pick shortstop Charles LeBlanc from Pittsburgh, sixth-round pick Kyle Cody from the Kentucky, and 10th-round pick outfielder Josh Merrigan from Georgia Gwinnett College.
Additional 2016 draft picks reporting to Spokane include Alex Kowalcyzk (12th), Reid Anderson (17th), Alex Daniele (19th), Steven Lohr (20th), Kaleb Fontenot (21st), Clayton Middleton (22nd), Mark Iseneker (28th), Travis Bolin (32nd), Mark Vasquez (33rd), and Preston Scott (34th).
Top 2015 draft picks assigned to the Indians include fifth-round pick Chad Smith, sixth-round pick Tyler Ferguson, and 19th-round pick Xavier Turner.
Returning players from the Indians 2015 roster include Darius Day, Carlos Garay, Nick Green, Luke Lanphere and Todd McDonald. Also returning to Spokane are Kelvin Vasquez (2013) and Seth Spivey (2014), who will begin his transition to catching with the Indians.
“We are excited about this squad and look forward to competing for another Northwest League title,” Indians manager Tim Hulett said. “The players have a few days to practice and get acclimated to Spokane and then it’s on to opening night.”
Hulett returns for his 10th season as Indians manager, and will be assisted by hitting coach Kenny Hook, pitching coach Joey Seaver, assistant coach Jared Goedert, trainer Luke Teeters and strength and conditioning coach Ed Yong.
Kickoff time announced for
WSU-Boise State football game
Washington State’s football game at Boise State, set for Saturday, Sept. 10, will kick off at 7:15 p.m. (PDT) on ESPN2.
The Cougars will face the Broncos for the first time since 2001, a 41-20 WSU victory in Boise.
WSU will open the 2016 season Saturday, Sept. 3 by hosting Eastern Washington at Martin Stadium. Game time is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast by the Pac-12 Network. Following the game at Boise State, WSU returns to Martin Stadium to host Idaho, Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m., also televised by the Pac-12 Network.
While television selections for the first three weeks of the 2016 season have been made, as well as all Thursday and Friday games throughout the season, all remaining television game selections and start times, starting with week four (Saturday, Sept. 23) and running through the final week of the regular season (Saturday, Nov. 26) will be made 12 or six days in advance.
Cougars add guard
Langston to 2016-17 roster
PULLMAN — Keith Langston, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard from Chicago, has signed a finacial aid agreement and will join the Washington State men’s basketball program beginning with the 2016-17 season, coach Ernie Kent announced.
Langston attended Chabot College, a two-year school in Hayward, Calif., during the 2015-16 school year, where he redshirted. Prior to that, Langston played one season at Pasadena City College in California. He began his high school career at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, where he attended his freshman through junior years, before transferring to St. Patrick High School, also in Chicago, for his senior season. Following high school, he spent the 2013-14 school year at Victory Rock Prep in Bradenton, Fla. At Pasadena City College, Langston averaged 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds a game, while shooting 44 percent from the field. He was named All-South Coast Conference North at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season.
Langston will have three years of eligibility left at Washington State. He joins Jamar Ergas (6-4, 190, guard, Toronto/Elite 1 Academy-Ariz.), Malachi Flynn (6-1, 165, guard, Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), Milan Acquaah (6-2, 195, guard, Pasadena, Calif./Cathedral HS) and Jeff Pollard (6-8, 235, forward, Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS/Impact Academy), who each previously signed NLIs with the Cougars. WSU has one scholarship remaining for the 2016-17 season.