Notebook | Former Husky visits after Israel on-court incident

If the familiar face in the front row at Edmundson Pavilion Sunday looked a little sleepy, Tre Simmons thinks you'll understand.

The former Husky took in his alma mater's 82-68 win over Eastern Washington while on an unexpected vacation from his current job playing professional basketball in Israel.

Simmons' team, Hapoel Holon, was nearing the end of a game last week when man tossed a bag with a large firecracker on the court. A security guard picked it up and tried to get it off the court but it exploded before he got very far. The guard reportedly later had three fingers reattached. A 20-year-old man later admitted throwing the firecracker, according to media reports, with such violence reportedly a growing problem at Israel sports events.

Simmons said his team canceled play this week, and he decided to return home; he arrived Friday.

"I had to come back and get my mind right," said Simmons, who also played at Garfield and Green River Community College before spending two years at UW and graduating in 2005. Simmons, who was not injured in the incident in Israel, said he has had trouble sleeping because every time he closed his eyes, "I'd picture it."

Despite that, Simmons said he plans to return to Israel on Thursday; the team resumes play Sunday. This is Simmons' second year in Israel and though he said "there are some crazy fans there" he said he has been enjoying his experience.

"As long as I'm making a living doing what I love to do, I've got no problem going overseas," he said.

Oliver is out with knee injury

Sophomore guard Adrian Oliver didn't play after suffering a sprained MCL while taking a charge in the NIT win over Utah on Wednesday. Oliver said he also hurt some tendons in his hamstring and hadn't practiced since that game.

Still, he said he should be fine for UW's games in the NIT in New York this week. He was close to going in the game in the first half, but he said the knee stiffened while he was on the bench after warming up and decided, "I didn't want to take a chance."

NOTE

• Franklin High junior guard Peyton Siva, who is a priority for UW's class of 2009, attended the game and sat behind the Huskies bench, something he has done regularly the past two years. Members of the student section Dawg Pack chanted his name at one point and he smiled and threw his hands in the air in acknowledgment.

E. WASHINGTON 68
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Brunell	23	4-7	1-2	1-3	0	5	11
Williams	36	4-7	0-0	1-4	1	4	8
DeLeon	25	8-15	5-5	1-2	5	4	22
Stanojevic	27	1-9	0-0	0-2	1	2	3
Gross	23	1-5	0-0	0-0	0	1	2
Hinton	24	2-5	0-0	2-4	2	2	4
Gibson	22	4-7	3-3	0-1	0	0	13
Moore	20	2-5	1-1	3-5	0	1	5
	200	26-60	10-11	11-28	9	19	68

Percentages: FG .433, FT .909. Three-point goals: 6-25, .240 (Gibson 2-3, Brunell 2-5, DeLeon 1-4, Stanojevic 1-7, Williams 0-1, Hinton 0-2, Gross 0-3). Team rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 1 (Hinton). Turnovers: 20 (Gross 5, Hinton 4, DeLeon 2, Gibson 2, Stanojevic 2, Williams 2, Brunell 2, Moore). Steals: 10 (Williams 4, DeLeon 2, Stanojevic, Gibson, Gross, Brunell). Technical fouls: None.

WASHINGTON 82
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Pondexter	27	3-10	2-3	3-6	1	2	9
Brockman	27	13-19	0-1	3-8	0	3	26
Smith	16	3-3	0-0	1-1	1	1	7
Overton	24	2-4	0-0	1-2	3	3	5
Dentmon	32	5-13	4-4	1-5	7	1	16
Oliver	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Morris	22	3-4	2-2	1-3	5	2	8
Bryan-Amanng	24	0-4	2-6	4-7	1	1	2
Wallace	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Holiday	15	0-2	1-2	1-3	1	2	1
Wolfinger	9	3-4	0-0	0-1	1	1	8
	200	32-63	11-18	17-38	20	17	82

Percentages: FG .508, FT .611. Three-point goals: 7-17, .412 (Wolfinger 2-2, Dentmon 2-7, Smith 1-1, Overton 1-3, Pondexter 1-3, Holiday 0-1). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 4 (Bryan-Amaning 2, Holiday, Dentmon). Turnovers: 19 (Overton 4, Pondexter 3, Dentmon 2, Smith 2, Morris 2, Wolfinger 2, Bryan-Amaning 2, Holiday, Wallace). Steals: 7 (Dentmon 3, Overton 3, Brockman). Technical fouls: None.

E. Washington	27	41	—	68
Washington	45	37	—	82

Attendance: 7,822. Officials: Michael Reed, Mike Scyphers, Martin Cota.