Nevada to host UTEP in CBI

Nevada Appeal Staff Report

RENO " The University of Nevada men's basketball team will take on the University of Texas at El Paso in the College Basketball Invitational Tuesday at Lawlor Events Center.

Tuesday's game with former Western Athletic Conference foe UTEP will tip off at 8 p.m. and will be televised nationally by HDnet.

"I'm excited that our kids get to keep playing. They deserve the recognition of a postseason invitation," fifth-year Nevada head coach Mark Fox said. "UTEP was a great rival a few years ago."

Nevada is led by hometown stars Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson, both of whom made the all-WAC tournament team. Babbitt, who has been bothered by a sore back scored eight points on Saturday.

In its second year, the CBI is a 16-team, single-elimination tournament that runs from Tuesday, March 17 through Friday, April 3.

The dates of the CBI games are March 17-18 for the first round, March 23 for the quarterfinals and March 25 for the semifinals.

UTEP Miners finished the season at 19-12 overall and finished in a tie for fourth in the Conference USA standings with a 10-6 league mark.

The Miners are led by senior guard Stefon Jackson who averages 24.2 points per game.

Ticket prices for Nevada's game with UTEP will be $25 for floor seats, $20 for lower reserved, $18 for upper reserved, $15 for behind the basket and corner reserved and $5 for students with a valid student ID.

Tickets for lower concourse season ticketholders will go on sale at 9 a.m. today at Legacy Hall ticket office. Donors who have seats in the lower concourse will have until 5 p.m. Monday to secure their seats.

All tickets in the upper concourse (rows 21 and higher) will go on sale to the general public at the Lawlor Events Center Ticket Office, online at www.tickets.com or by calling 1-800-225-2277 starting at 10 a.m. Monday morning. Any lower concourse tickets not purchased by season ticket holders will also become available at the Lawlor Events Center box office and via tickets.com following the 5 p.m. Monday deadline. Student tickets for the CBI will go on sale starting at 10 a.m. Monday morning at the Legacy Hall Ticket Office.

For more information, call the Wolf Pack Ticket Office at Legacy Hall at 775-348-PACK (7225) or log on to www.nevadawolfpack.com.