Northwest Sports & Entertainment Inc. is please to announce the return of the Comcast Battle in Seattle this December. The game will feature 05-06 WAC Regular and tournament champion Nevada Wolf Pack vs. the 05-06 West Coast Conference Regular and tournament championship Gonzaga Bulldogs in the annual contest held at KeyArena in Seattle. This years BIS game will be the first in the four year history of the game to take place after the Christmas on December 30th. This will be a rematch of the 2004 NCAA tournament game also played at KeyArena when Nevada upset the #2 Seeded Bulldogs 91-72 for their first trip ever to the sweet sixteen.

Third year Head Coach Mark Fox (52-13 record, two seasons) is bringing what may be the best Nevada team ever to Seattle for this contest. The Wolf Pack returns all five starters and a total of nine letter winners from last year’s 27-6 team, including two time defending WAC Player of the year Nick Fazekas. Last season, Nevada won its third consecutive WAC regular season title and earned its third straight trip to the NCAA tournament while finishing the season in the AP top 20.

Like Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison last season, Nick Fazekas has turned down the NBA to return for one more season of college basketball. Fazekas, a 6-11, 235-pound senior forward from Arvada, Colo, led the WAC and ranked 16th in the country in scoring with 21.8 points per game last year. He also ranked in the national top 20 in rebounding with 10.4 boards per game. Fazekas was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and was on the final national ballot for the Wooden Award. Fazekas should be an early favorite for 2006 national player of the year.

The Comcast Battle in Seattle will also serve as a homecoming for no less than four native Seattle area High School Players. Nevada brings home three with Junior guard Marcelus Kemp (Garfield HS), sophomore guard Lyndale Burleson (Franklin HS), and redshirt freshman Richie Phillips (Franklin HS). However, Juanita High School and University of Kansas transfer Micah Downs for Gonzaga may prove to be the most intriguing player returning to the Puget Sound area. Micah, a 2005 McDonalds All-American, will miss the first part of the Gonzaga pre-season because of the transfer rules, but should add to the already strong GU frontline in time for the BIS event.

Gonzaga will come into the Comcast Battle in Seattle for the first time without 2006 National Scoring Champion and First Team All-American Adam Morrison. However, like many other traditional top ten teams, Gonzaga will re-load as opposed to rebuilding from last years sweet sixteen team. Joining last year starters Derek Ravio, Sean Mallon, and Pierre Marie Alitdor-Cespedes, GU should get major contributions from Larry Gurganious, Josh Heytvelt, Jeremy Pargo, and David Pendergraft, along with the previously mentioned Downs. Ravio and Mallon will be the only players to play in all four Comcast Battle in Seattle’s.

Meanwhile Mark Few has lead Gonzaga to six straight West Coast Conference Regular Season Championships, while finishing last season as the ESPN/USA today 10th ranked team in the country. Coach Few is adamant that this squad will be a top-20 team and is currently ranked 18th in the ESPN current pre-season rankings. In 2006, Mark earned his sixth straight WCC coach of the year honors.

Gonzaga has won all three previous Comcast Battle in Seattle games at KeyArena, disposing of UMass 68-57 in 2004, outlasting the Missouri Tigers in overtime 87-80 in 2003. This past season Gonzaga beat Oklahoma State 64-62 on Adam Morrison’s unlikely 25-foot 3-point bank shot with 8 seconds to play before a nationally televised audience.

Northwest Sports is also please to announce that Comcast has retained naming rights and title sponsorship to the Battle in Seattle for the next three seasons. Comcast has proven to be a wonderful partner for this nationally recognized event.

WHEN:
Saturday, December 30th, 2006, 3:00 pm PST

TV:
National Broadcast to be announce

WHERE:
Key-Arena, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, Washington

TICKETS:
General public tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster September 16th, 2006. A pre-sale will be conducted in Spokane only September 9th, 2006.