Cougars announce plans for Australian adventure

College basketball: The Washington State men’s basketball team will travel to Australia for a two-week trip beginning Aug. 3 that will include games against five Australian teams and stops in four regions of the country, the school announced Thursday.

Included in the trip are stops in the home areas of WSU’s three Australian players. They’ll play against the Melbourne Tigers of the National Basketball League in the hometown of Dexter Kernich-Drew; against the NBL’s Wollongong Hawks in Sydney, the hometown of incoming junior college transfer James Hunter; and against the Brisbane Spartans of the South East Australian Basketball League in Gold Coast, which is near Brock Motum’s hometown of Brisbane. A stop in Cairns will round out the trip.

The Cougars will also play games against the North Invitational Team of the Australian Basketball Association and the Cairns Taipans of the NBL.

They’ll take time to experience Australian culture, too, with planned visits to the Great Barrier Reef and the Melbourne Opera House, among others.

Christian Caple

Post Falls’ Reid transfers to SPU

College basketball: Shawn Reid, a 6-foot-5 forward from Post Falls High who was the second-leading scorer at Montana State University, is transferring to Seattle Pacific, men’s basketball coach Ryan Looney announced.

Reid will be a junior with two seasons of eligibility remaining and can play immediately during the 2012-13 season for the NCAA Division II Falcons.

He averaged 10.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for the Division I Bobcats, who had a 12-17 record last season and placed fifth in the Big Sky Conference standings with a 7-9 mark.

Reid led the Post Falls Trojans to the 2010 Class 5A state championship. He received the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.