EWU men's basketball schedule has 16 games at Reese

STAFF AND NEWS SERVICE REPORTS | Last updated Aug 11, 2016 4:40pm0

There’s some unfamiliar territory in the 2016-17 Eastern Washington University men’s basketball schedule and it’s called Reese Court.

The Eagles will play 16 games on their home court, equally spilt between nonleague and Big Sky Conference in a schedule released Aug. 8.

In previous recent seasons, Eastern has played the majority of its nonleague contests on the road, but that changes as the Eagles will host two different four-team tournaments among their contests at Reese.

“The schedule gives us many great opportunities to play in front of our home fans during the non-conference season,” Eastern head coach Jim Hayford said. “We are playing a very good group of teams, which will challenge and prepare us for Big Sky Conference play.”

After a Reese Court exhibition game against Saint Martin’s, Oct. 30, the Eagles will open the regular season in Cheney against Linfield, an NCAA Division III school in the Northwest Conference. Saint Martin’s is coached by former Eastern assistant, Alex Pribble.

Eastern’s first road games are at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. (Nov. 14) and Texas (Nov. 17). The Longhorns were a No. 6 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. These contests are the first round of the Legends Classic, which continues with the Eagles’ next games.

EWU returns home to host a subregional round of the Legends Classic, facing Bryant (8-23/5-13) on Nov. 21, followed by Seattle or Louisiana Monroe on Nov. 22. Eastern will play in the 6:05 p.m. game both nights, with the Nov. 21 winners and losers pairing off against each other.

A new event, the EWU Classic will feature Denver (16-15) on Nov. 26 and San Francisco (15-15) on Nov. 27. Sacramento State (6-12) of the Big Sky rounds out the field.

Eastern will play at Seattle (13-15) on Dec. 4. Eastern and the Redhawks split two games last season, with EWU winning 76-70 at home and losing on the road 58-52.

The Eagles return home for a pair of games against Great Falls (13-16) on Dec. 8 and Morehead State (23-14) on Dec. 13.

Eastern will hit the road for its three final non-conference games before starting league play. The Eagles play at Northern Kentucky (9-21) on Dec. 18, Xavier (28-6) on Dec. 20 and Colorado (22-12) on Dec. 22.

The Eagles will begin Big Sky play on Dec. 30 with a visit to Idaho, followed by the team’s league home opener against Montana State on Jan. 5, 2017. Eastern also hosts Montana (Jan. 7), Northern Arizona (Jan. 19), Southern Utah (Jan. 21), Sacramento State (Feb. 2), Portland State (Feb. 4), Idaho (Feb. 17), Weber State (Feb. 23) and Idaho State (Feb. 25) before the regular season comes to a close on March 4 at Northern Arizona. The Big Sky Tournament will tip-off on Mar. 7 in Reno, Nevada, at the Reno Events Center.

“This is my sixth year as the head coach of Eastern and I anticipate this to be the most balanced and competitive conference season we have seen yet,” Hayford said.

2016-2017 EWU Men’s Basketball Home Schedule

Day - Date - Opponent - Site - Time

Sunday, Oct. 30, Saint Martin’s, Reese Court, 2:05 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11, Linfield, Reese Court, TBA

Monday, Nov. 21, Bryant, Reese Court, 6:05 p.m.

-- Seattle versus Louisiana Monroe, 3:35 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 22, Seattle or Louisiana Monroe, Reese Court, 6:05 p.m.

-- Consolation Game, 3:35 p.m. or 6:05 p.m. (EWU will play at 6:05 regardless)

-- Championship Game, 6:05 p.m. or 3:35 p.m. (EWU will play at 6:05 regardless)

Saturday, Nov. 26, Denver, Reese Court, 6:05 p.m.

-- San Francisco versus Sacramento State, 3:35 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 27, San Francisco, Reese Court, 6:05 p.m.