Tonight on SWX: Fitz Tourney Brings Prep Teams to Spokane - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |

The Fitz Tournament gets underway Friday night in Spokane, as local teams trade football pads for hardwood floors.

Mead tips off first against Lake Stevens at 4 o'clock. West Valley (Yakima) and West Valley (Spokane) play in the first televised game of the season at 5:30, followed by Peninsula (Gig Harbor) vs. Lewis & Clark at 7:30.

While the GSL talent is typically strong, Mead enjoys these types of non-league games. They give the team an opportunity to go up against new teams and provide a fresh spin on the season.

"That's always fun; you don't really know what they do, so you get to go out and make adjustments on the fly and see what's going on – how they react to your stuff," said Panthers coach Glen Williams. "The last time we had a team go to state a couple of years ago we played [Lake Stevens], so we're familiar with probably what they're gong to do, but it's still fun to play different teams."

The host team for the tournament is Lewis & Clark. Peninsula is an unknown team to the Tigers, but they are excited for the challenge.

"They're kind of a little bit like us – undersized maybe just a little bit, with a mix of sophomores, juniors seniors," said coach Jeff Norton about Peninsula.

"I don't really know what to expect, I've never heard of Peninsula," said senior point guard Dean Richey. "I saw on the article that it said Gig Harbor. I know Gig Harbor is by Seattle, I don't know anything else…. I'm just going to go out and play my hardest."

Friday Nov. 30

4:00  Lake Stevens vs. Mead

5:30  West Valley-Yakima vs. West Valley-Spokane

7:30  Peninsula vs. Lewis & Clark

9:00  Blanchet vs. Lake City

Saturday Dec. 1

11:00  Peninsula vs. West Valley-Spokane

12:30  Blanchet vs. Mead

2:30   Lake Stevens vs. Lewis & Clark

4:00   West Valley-Yakima vs Lake City