Fast Break

Basketball

Gross returns

Trey Gross, a 6-foot-2 sophomore shooting guard who started 26 of 30 games as a freshman on Eastern Washington’s men’s team last winter, has decided to remain an Eagle.

Gross, who averaged 27.2 minutes and 7.3 points per game for Eastern last year, had originally opted to transfer during the off-season and had enrolled at San Francisco City College near his home in Stockton, Calif., earlier this fall. According to Eagles head coach Kirk Earlywine, Gross attended classes there for a week before notifying him of his decision to return to Eastern, where classes began earlier this week.

“No question, it’s great to have him back,” Earlywine said. “He was a guy we looked at as being a cornerstone of our program for the next three or four years.

“I don’t think we could have gone out and recruited anybody better than him to take his place.”

Basketball

Zags reveal schedule

Gonzaga has put together another challenging men’s schedule, including a six-week stretch in which the Bulldogs will likely face 10 non-conference foes that played in the 2007-08 postseason.

That span begins at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., in late November with a first-round matchup against Oklahoma State, a first-round loser in the NIT last season.

Five of the eight Old Spice teams played in the NCAA tourney last year and two were in the NIT.

After three games in Orlando, Gonzaga meets Indiana, Washington State, Arizona, Texas Southern, Connecticut, Portland State, Utah and Tennessee. Other than Texas Southern and Utah, every team played in the NCAA tournament.

Gonzaga also entertains Memphis, national runner-up last season, in the Spokane Arena Feb. 7 as part of ESPN’s College GameDay.