Gonzaga, WSU tip off Friday

Gonzaga and Washington State tip off their men’s basketball seasons Friday night with exhibitions. The Zags will entertain Southern Oregon at 6 at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The game will be televised on KHQ, channel 6. The Cougars take on Lewis-Clark State College at Friel Court in Pullman, also at 6 p.m. The NAIA Southern Oregon Raiders lost their exhibition opener to NCAA Division II Humboldt State 74-51 on Tuesday. Southern Oregon, 12-15 last season, was picked to finish 10th (last) in the Cascade Conference preseason coaches poll. Sophomore forward Elias Harris (shoulder), Gonzaga’s top returning scorer, is not expected to play. “This is a hard time for these players, the first 2-3 weeks of practice, long practices, physical days,” head coach Mark Few said. “I’m sure they’re chomping at the bit to play somebody else.” Lewis-Clark State College is on a three-games-in-three-nights season-opening stretch, playing at Montana on Thursday, at WSU on Friday and at Idaho on Saturday.