Western Slam basketball tournament tips off in Lethbridge

LETHBRIDGE -

The inaugural Western Slam tournament got underway Thursday evening at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

It's the first men's NCAA basketball tournament to be held in Lethbridge.

Hundreds of fans turned out.

"We really got to credit the folks here in Lethbridge, the city government and the people at VisitLethbridge.com Arena. It was really kind of their vision to want to bring this event up here and working with us to kind of help organize and get them and pull the teams together," said Matt Holmes with On Ice Entertainment, the group organizing the tournament.

"But really a credit to kind of the vision of the people here in Lethbridge."

The tournament features teams from UC Irvine, Kennesaw State, Towson University and Kent State.

All four teams have previously appeared in March Madness and have aspirations of getting back to the big dance this season.

"I know Kent State and Towson are also really good, well-coached teams who are off to good starts like Kennesaw State is. We like the challenge that we have and we have a deep team. So, three games in three days is something that we do want to experience. It's comparable to the experience we may have in our own conference tournament and March," said Russell Turner, head coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters.

Early season tournaments around American Thanksgiving are a staple in NCAA basketball.

It provides an opportunity for teams to bond before starting their conference schedules and lets them see how they stack up against teams from across the U.S.

"It's nice. ... The chance to get away from all our conference teams just gives us more exposure to different levels of competition, different conferences. I think it helps a lot just to give us that different type of basketball," said UC Irvine guard Torian Lee.

For fans in southern Alberta, it's an opportunity to see some of the top college talent the NCAA has to offer.

Several players will be on the radar of NBA and European teams.

"There's just a great opportunity for basketball fans to see high-level NCAA basketball here in Lethbridge. And again, you might see some of these teams in the NCAA tournament," Holmes said.

The Western Slam runs until Saturday and features two games each day.