From Case Western Reserve University Athletics

The Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team will get their 2016-17 preseason started earlier than usual, as the team's returning players will leave on Thursday for an eight-day international trip to Belize.

The Spartans are scheduled to take part in a number of sightseeing activities while in Belize, including touring the cities of San Ignacio and San Pedro, seeing a Mayan temple, cave tubing, zip lining, snorkeling and taking part in a beach excursion.  Case Western Reserve will also be taking time to hold a pair of clinics, one at the Kings Orphanage and the other with the Sacred Heart JC Basketball Team.

In addition, the team will have a pair of exhibition games against local teams, Galen University and the Belmopan Bandits, giving the Spartans an early opportunity to play under new Head Coach Todd McGuinness for the first time.

"This trip has been a great opportunity for the team to get in some early practices," said McGuinness.  "The guys have been working hard, and we're excited to see how we play in the two games."

This year's trip is the latest in what has become a tradition for the CWRU men's basketball program.  The Spartans' history of international travel began with a 1985 trip to the Middle East, and continued with trips to Brazil in 2007 and 2010, and to Costa Rica in 2013.