NCAA squads visit UFV for Labour Day hoops

In what is becoming an annual rite of passage for CIS teams each fall, the University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team will host the NCAA’s Colorado State and the University of Tulsa during this year’s Labour Day weekend.

The Cascades battle the Rams at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 30 and the Golden Hurricane at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 31. Both games will be played at the Envision Athletic Centre on UFV’s Abbotsford campus.

Ticket prices are $8 for adults, $5 for UFV staff, faculty and alumni, $3 for seniors and $2 for non-UFV students.

Children six and under as well as all UFV students (with ID) are free.

Colorado State had two players average double-digit scoring totals last season – guard Marcus Walker (Kansas City, Montana) and centre Stuart Creason (Coppell, Texas).

Walker, a junior, averaged 17.1 points per game, while Creason, a senior, posted 12.2 points per contest.

The Rams posted a 7-25 overall record in 2007-08 and went winless (0-16) in the Mountain West Conference. Colorado State has made eight NCAA tournament appearances since 1954 with its most recent coming in 2003 when the squad lost to Duke in the opening round.

The Golden Hurricane were 25-14 last year and advanced to the championship game of the Conference USA Tournament against second-ranked Memphis.

Tulsa won the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in the post-season with a best-of-three series win over Bradley, 2-1.

Juniors Ben Uzoh (San Antonio, Texas) and Jerome Jordan (Kingston, Jamaica) lead the Hurricane. Uzoh was Tulsa’s top scorer last season, averaging 15.6 points per game, while seven-foot tall Jordan was a force for the Hurricane in 2007-08, averaging 10.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per contest.

“This will be a great chance for Fraser Valley basketball fans to see top-notch division one basketball teams and get a sneak peak at our local team,” said Cascades head coach Barnaby Craddock. “It’s always exciting to play teams of this talent level and get a feel for what we can improve on over the season.”

The Cascades enjoyed a successful sophomore season in the CIS in 2007-08, posting a 12-10 regular season record before advancing to the program’s first-ever Canada West playoff series.

During the off-season, Craddock secured an impressive crop of recruits for 2008. This fall’s class includes three members of Yale’s secondary school’s provincial championship team (Josh Kufske, Jasper Moedt and 2008 MVP Joel Friesen), St. George’s Gurjote Jhaj (Richmond), Coquitlam’s Sam Freeman and David Thompson High School’s Jitinder Lohcham (Vancouver).

In April, the Cascades also announced the addition of UNBC transfer Chris Laurie (Abbotsford).