A couple of news items this morning.
-First, from men’s college basketball, and local product Tanner Riley was a key figure last night for the Portland Pilots as they won their opening game at the West Coast Conference tournament in Las Vegas. Riley, from North Bend and a 2010 Mount Si grad, scored 12 points on a solid 5-8 from the floor in 31 minutes of action as UoP downed Santa Clara 74-70 to advance to a second round game tonight against the University of San Francisco. This game tips at 6:00 p.m., and it can be seen live on BYUTV, which if you have Xfinity’s digital preferred package locally in the Valley is channel 232. Dish and DirecTV also carry this channel, check your listings for channel number.
-In high school hoops, if you have the day off from work today and are a Mount Si boys’ hoops fan, make it down to Tacoma for the 10:30 am state 3A high school boys’ basketball quarterfinal tournament matchup between Lake Washington and University of Spokane. The Kangs, as you know, are Mount Si’s rivals in Kingco 3A, but more importantly, ex-Wildcat coach Garrick Phillips is coaching the University team, and for many of you, this will be your first chance to see him coach since he left Mount Si following the 2005-06 season, when he coached the Wildcats to their most recent state tournament appearance in boys’ basketball, in which Mount Si finished sixth. Phillips has been coaching and teaching at University since then, and he is in his sixth season there this year. So this is a matchup that will definitely be interesting if you bleed that scarlet and gray. We wish Phillips and his team good luck today, as LW is expected to be a tough foe for U-High.
