Tickets for the BC Basketball Classic coming to Rogers Arena, featuring Gonzaga University men’s basketball and the Hawaii Warriors go on sale this Friday, October 14th at 10:00 a.m.
Fans looking to attend the November 19
th contest can purchase tickets at
www.ticketmaster.ca, all Ticketmaster outlets or by phone at 1-855-985-5000.
Prices start as low at $14. For fans that are looking to attend the game in a large group, a limited number of group tickets can be purchased now by calling (480) 620-9039.
The BC Basketball Classic will be the first regular season NCAA men’s basketball game to take place in British Columbia since 1990, when the UNLV Rebels defeated Alabama-Birmingham 109-68.
When the Bulldogs take the court at Rogers Arena, they will be playing in Vancouver for the first time since November 25-26, 1966 when the team participated in the Totem Tournament, defeating St. Martin’s 78-60 and the University of British Columbia 89-73.
Gonzaga features three players from Canada: senior center Robert Sacre (North Vancouver, BC), junior forward Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, BC) and freshman guard Kevin Pangos (Newmarket, Ontario).
The event will be a homecoming for Sacre who attended Handsworth Secondary School, located less than 10 miles from Rogers Arena.
Sacre led the Handsworth basketball team to the 61st AAA Provincial Championship as a junior. All three Canadian-born Zags have played on some form of Canada’s national team.
Most recently, Olynyk participated in the FIBA Americas Championship where the seven-footer started the last four games in the tournament, averaging 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as the team finished 3-5.“It will be exciting to get Rob back home to play.
He’s one of the all-time great Zags. Plus, Kelly will be playing close to his hometown and Kevin will get to play a game in his homeland,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said.
Led by All-WAC Honorable Mention guard Zane Johnson, the Rainbow Warriors return three starters from a team that won 19 games and advanced to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament a season ago. Johnson’s 15.8 points per game were the most on the in 2010-11.
The two teams last faced each other in the second round of the 1998 NIT, with Hawaii defeating the Zags, 78-70. Gonzaga leads the all-time series 2-1.
The last basketball game at Rogers Arena took place as season ago when the Toronto Raptor defeated the Phoenix Suns in an NBA preseason game on Oct. 6th.
The former home of the Vancouver Grizzlies holds 17,391 spectators for basketball games.
WHAT: Men’s NCAA Division I basketball, 2011 BC Basketball Classic
WHO: Gonzaga University Bulldogs vs. University of Hawaii Warriors
WHEN: November 19th, 2011 – Time 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Rogers Arena – 800 Griffiths Way, Vancouver
CONTACT: Adam Baker, Idol Sports & Entertainment – 480-635-8720, E-mail: adam@idolsports.com
TICKETS: ON SALE NOW
