Broncos To Play In 13th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic

Broncos To Play In 13th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic

The hometown University of Nevada Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels, CBI champion Santa Clara Broncos and the high-flying Eagles from Florida Gulf Coast University headline the field for the 13th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, scheduled for Dec. 22-23, 2013 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Each team will play four games in the Classic – the first two at on-campus sites and the final two rounds at the Orleans Arena Dec. 22-23. 

Always one of the best holiday tournaments in the country, the 2013 Classic is no exception.  Also in the challenging field are  Mississippi State of the Southeastern Conference, South Florida of the American Athletic Conference (formerly the Big East), Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, FL), Radford University (VA) and Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT).

Santa Clara, coming off its 2013 championship in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), returns two starters – senior guard Evan Roquemore (12.0 ppg, 5.2 assists) and junior forward Yannick Atanga (2.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg).  Santa Clara had the biggest turnaround among NCAA Division I schools in 2012-13 and finished with a national RPI rating of 68.  The Broncos won 26 games and finished fourth in the highly-competitive West Coast Conference, won by #1-ranked Gonzaga.

Under then first-year coach Dave Rice, UNLV won the championship game of the 2011 Las Vegas Invitational at the Orleans Arena defeating #1 North Carolina 90-80.  That victory propelled the Rebels to a 26-9 record in 2011-12 and a 25-10 mark last year.  UNLV has now made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and 20 appearances overall, a mark only 11 teams in the nation can match. 

While 6-8 Anthony Bennett (16.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg) has declared for the NBA draft, the Rebels have a strong returning cast to continue their up-tempo, aggressive style of basketball in 2013-14.  Bryce Dejean-Jones (10.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg), a 6-5 junior, and Katin Reinhardt (10.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg), a 6-5 sophomore, return in the backcourt.  6-8 senior Mike Moser (7.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) 6-9 junior Khem Birch (7.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg) will anchor the frontcourt. 

Florida Gulf Coast (Ft. Myers, FL) won 14 of their last 17 games and captured the attention of the nation when they became the first #15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.  America's Cinderella team of the year, FGCU first held classes in 1997 and started an intercollegiate basketball program in 2002.  Their first full season in NCAA Division I was 2011.

Aptly nicknamed "Dunk City" for their ability to finish above the rim (the team recorded 148 dunks during the season), the Eagles defeated second-seed Georgetown 78-68 and seventh-seed San Diego State 81-71 before losing to Florida 62-50 in the Sweet 16.  The Eagles finished the year with a 26-11 record and were ranked 25th nationally in the final poll.

While senior guard Sherwood Brown has graduated, the visible leaders of "Dunk City" return under new head coach Joe Dooley, a long time Kansas assistant.  Dunk City 'Mayor' Chase Fielder, a 6-8 senior forward (12.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 48 blocks), led the team with 60 dunks last season.  Dunk City 'Conductor' Brett Comer, a 6-3 junior guard (8.1 ppg, 6.6 assists), returns as the team's floor general.  Junior guard Bernard Thompson (14.3 ppg, 2.7 steals), the Atlantic Sun Conference's defensive player of the year, and 6-9 junior forward Eric McKnight (6.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg) also return. 

Hosting more than 200 events each year, the Orleans Arena is located just west of the Las Vegas strip and was recently named the #1 mid-size arena in the USA by Venues Today magazine.

Tickets will be available at the Orleans Arena box office beginning at 12 noon on May 3, 2013 (702.284.7777 or 888.234.2334) and via the internet at www.orleansarena.com.  Tickets for the final two rounds in Las Vegas may also be purchased at the athletic ticket offices of the participating schools.