Opponent: Hawaii Hilo
Date/Tipoff: Friday, Nov. 17, 2017 | 4:30 p.m. PST
Location: Seattle, Wash. (Brougham Pavilion)
Live Stream: Stream
Live Stats: Stats
 
Opponent: Concordia-Irvine
Date/Tipoff: Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 | 5 p.m. PST
Location: Seattle, Wash. (Brougham Pavilion)
Live Stream: Stream
Live Stats: Stats
 
THE GAME
The Central Washington University men's basketball team (1-1) will stay close to home this week as the travel to the Westside for the Sodexo Classic. The tournament is held in Brougham Pavilion on the campus of Seattle Pacific University, where the Wildcats will square off against the University of Hawaii Hilo (1-2) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PST and Concordia-Irvine (3-1) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
CWU FAST BREAKS

• The Wildcats continue it season-opening four-game road swing, facing Hawaii Hilo on Friday (Nov. 17) and Concordia-Irvine (Nov. 18) in Seattle, Wash.
• The Wildcats hold a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series against Hawaii Hilo dating back to 1980. Central Washington defeated the Vulcans, 100-87, at the same tournament in 2015.
• Saturday's matchup against Concordia-Irvine will be the first time the two programs have ever faced each other.
• CWU head coach Greg Sparling is in his 23rd full season at the helm of the CWU men's basketball program. Sparling is 372-240 overall in his time at Central Washington.
• Junior guard Jawan Stepney is coming off a career-high 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting against Cal State Monterey Bay.

 
LAST WEEK
CWU split their two games last week against Cal State San Bernardino and Monterey Bay. True freshman Khalil Shabazz scored a game-high 28 points in his collegiate debut, but the Wildcats fell in their season opener against the Coyotes 62-81 last Friday. Shabazz played 31 minutes off the bench and filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Senior center Fuquan Niles also scored in double figures with 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting.
 
On Saturday, CWU outscored Cal State Monterey Bay 36-28 in the second half to erase a three-point halftime deficit, earning their first win of the 2017-18 season by a score of 72-67. Stepney led the Wildcats in scoring with 25 points on 11 of 17 shooting, 2 of 5 from three point territory. As a team, the Wildcats shot 47.4-percent from the field (27 of 57), including 45.5-percent (5 of 11) from long range.  The otters shot a respectable 41.4 percent from the field, but made just 29.2-percent of their 24 three point attempts.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Hawaii Hilo
Hawaii Hilo open their 2017-18 campaign facing five consecutive GNAC opponents. Last week, the Vulcans competed at the Pacwest/GNAC Challenge Series in Bellingham, Wash. squaring off against Simon Fraser and Western Washington. Hawaii Hilo fell 75-87 against SFU last Friday, but defeated the Vikings by a score of 80-76 on Saturday. The Vulcans are coached by former Central Washington assistant GE Coleman, who enters his fourth-season.
 
Senior Ryley Callaghan leads the Vulcan offense, averaging 21 points per contest. Callaghan has also shot an impressive 95.5-percent from the charity stripe and averages a team-high 4.7 assists. Leading Hawaii Hilo on the glass is senior Randan Berinobis, who hauls in eight rebounds per game.
 
Concordia-Irvine
Concordia-Irvine dropped their first game of the season against Thomas Jefferson University (60-79), but have bounced back with three consecutive victories over Saint Leo, Chico State and Call State San Marcos. The Eagles are averaging 82 points while shooting 50.8 percent from the field.
 
Leading the CUI attack is senior guard JT Roach, who averages 19.8 points per game. Redshirt junior Brian Chambers registers 13 points per game, followed by senior Tad Dufelmeier with 12.8 points. Dufelmeier also leads the Eagles in assists and rebounds, averaging 7.3 and 6.3, respectively. Concordia-Irvine is coached by Ken Ammannn, who is in his 17th year at Concordia with a career record of 426-126.
 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will play in front of a home crowd for the first time this season against Walla Walla on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. PST.   
 
-CWU-