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Zag women to face Dayton

in Gulf Coast Showcase

ESTERO, Fla. — The Gonzaga women’s basketball team will open the seventh annual Gulf Coast Showcase against Dayton on Nov. 29 at 10:30 a.m.

The quarterfinal matchups feature Auburn taking on Middle Tennessee and Gonzaga facing Dayton in the top half of the bracket while the bottom half of the bracket will feature Arizona State battling Maine and Drake playing Purdue.

The seventh annual Gulf Coast Showcase will take place Nov. 29-Dec. 1. All 12 games will be played in the 8,284-seat Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla.

The Bulldogs and Dayton will meet for the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2016. Gonzaga has won every meeting to date, most recently defeating the Flyers 55-47 in Dayton. The Flyers went 17-14 overall last season with a 10-6 mark in the Atlantic 10 to finish fourth overall. Gonzaga boasts a 6-2 overall record against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This will be Gonzaga’s first trip to the Gulf Coast Showcase since its inception in 2013, while Arizona State, Dayton, Main, Middle Tennessee and Purdue have each played in the tournament previously.

Tickets for the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase will go on public sale on Monday, July 22 at HertzArena.com or through Ticketmaster. For fan travel information, including preferred hotel rates at the official tournament resort hotel — the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point — is available on www.GulfCoastShowcase.com.

Borghi named to watch list

for 2019 Doak Walker Award

Washington State running back Max Borghi was named to the 2019 Doak Walker Award Watch List, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced.

Borghi is one of nine Pac-12 Conference running backs named to the watch list for the award given to the nation’s top collegiate running back. Jamal Morrow was named to the same watch list prior to the 2017 season.

As a true freshman last season, Borghi was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honorable mention after tying for fifth in the league with 12 total touchdowns, tied for the most total touchdowns by a freshman in WSU single-season history. The Arvada, Colo. native tallied 740 all-purpose yards, rushed for eight touchdowns, averaged 5.1 yards-per-carry and caught 53 passes for four touchdowns.

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced on November 20. The committee will cast a second vote beginning December 2 to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.

The recipient of the 2019 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards December 12 on ESPN.

Former Eag, L-C State standout Wiley

signs with Greek champion Panathinaikos

ATHENS, Greece — Lewis-Clark State men’s basketball standout Jacob Wiley is making waves overseas and has signed a professional deal with Greek Champion Panathinaikos B.C. OPAP Athens of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The team announced they signed the big man to a one-year deal.

Wiley, a Newport High product, who played at Montana (2012-13), Lewis-Clark State (2014-16) and Eastern Washington (2016-17) — will team up with former NBA player Jimmer Fredette in Athens on a Panathinaikos team that has won 64 titles including 38 championships, 19 Greek Cups, six European Cups and one Intercontinental.

Wiley signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and played for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2017 Summer League. He went on to sign a two-way contract with the Nets and split time between the NBA squad and their G League affiliate. In March of 2018, Wiley signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga.

In the summer of 2018, Wiley returned to the states as a member of the Dallas Mavericks Summer League team before signing with the Adelaide 36ers for the 2018-19 NBL season. He made his way to the EuroLeague with the Spanish team Gran Canaria in Feb. 2019.