Checking Out Seattle U

I took a sea cruise on one of our state’s luxurious ocean liners tonight. Final destination: KeyArena.

The SuperSonics (remember them?) used to play at the place. It’s now the home of the Seattle Redhawks.

We’re about 12 minutes into the Seattle U-Oregon State basketball game. A couple of Kitsap products — Brandon Durham from Central Kitsap and Lane CC, and Bremerton’s Jarell Flora — play for the Redhawks. I hope to chat with them after the game. Durham, a 6-7 inside player, has been getting some minutes, and he’s got four points in a game Seattle leads 25-20. Flora didn’t make it off the bench in Seattle’s first three games, all losses. Seems like he’d really fit in with the Redhawks’ go-go-go style.

Not much of a crowd and I find it strange that neither team is wearing white. Seattle’s got its red uniforms on and OSU is in Orange.  The Redhawks thumped the Beavers 99-48 in Corvallis a year ago.

Notes: OSU coach Craig Robinson, President Obama’s brother-in-law, has gone away from his deliberate Princeton-style offense and given the Beavers the green light to get out and run more this season. … SU’s next home game is Nov. 29 vs. Montana State. The Redhawks plays Washington on Feb. 22 at KeyArena. … Garrett Lever, a senior guard for SU, is the son of former NBA player Fat Lever, one of the top defensive players of his era. He was a former first-round pick of the Trail Blazers who made a name for himself with the Nuggets.

Halftime: Durham had 5 points and two rebounds in eight minutes for Seattle U. The game’s tied 43-43. Except for 13 turnovers, SU’s playing well. They play hard. Sterling Carter, a freshman from Franklin High in Seattle, made 4-of-5 3-pointers and scored 16 points in the first 20 minutes.

Update: The game has turned sloppy. Really ratty. OSU leads 64-56 with a little over eight minutes left. Look for the AP story online after the game. I’m hoping to get a few words with Durham and Flora and will write something for later in the week if I do.

Washington State will play Portland on Tuesday at KeyArena. Here’s an update on WSU ticket sales for that game from our intrepid North Idaho reporter Howie Stalwick:
PULLMAN — Washington State basketball tickets are moving briskly for the sixth annual Cougar Hardwood Classic in Seattle as well as upcoming games in Pullman with third-ranked Kansas State and 11th-ranked Gonzaga, WSU tickets manager Jessica Young said Wednesday.
Young said ticket sales for the Hardwood Classic game with Portland, set for next Tuesday at KeyArena (7:30 p.m., FSN), are running ahead of last year’s pace. The Cougars drew a record 15,341 last December for an overtime win against Louisiana State.
Young said approximately 1,500 tickets are left for the Dec. 3 game with Kansas State (8 p.m., FSN). About 1,100 tickets are still available for the Dec. 8 contest with Gonzaga (8 p.m., FSN).
Young said about 6,500 tickets remain for the Apple Cup football game Dec. 4 with Washington (4 p.m., Versus). Young said the Huskies have returned some of their 4,800 allotted tickets and may return more.
To purchase tickets, go to www.cougars.com or phone (800) GO-COUGS.