You’ve opened the presents, stuffed yourself with turkey and dressing and are ready for some exciting high school basketball.
There will be no shortage of action December 27-29 as a pair of long-running tournaments feature 24 talented teams at the Salem Civic Center and Northside High School gym. Arrive early and stay late for three straight days of games at each venue that will crown a trio of champions.
The K-Guard Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament gets things started Thursday,December 27 at 3:00 pm at the Salem Civic Center where defending champion William Fleming takes on the Salem Spartans in the tournament opener. Hidden Valley and Jefferson Forest follow at 4:30, with Lord Botetourt facing the Broadway Gobblers at 6:00. Host Cave Spring tangles with Floyd County at 7:30 in the feature game of day-one.
Teams advance on Friday,December 28, with the Fleming-Salem loser taking on the Hidden Valley-JF loser at 3:00, the Botetourt-Broadway loser facing the Cave Spring-Floyd runner-up at 4:30, and the opening night winners playing at 6:00 and 7:30, respectfully. Saturday’s games will culminate with the championship game at 7:30 on the SCC hardwood.
The action at the Northside Invitational Tournament will be a little more hectic as eight junior varsity teams open things during the morning hours, with the 8-team varsity NIT taking center stage from mid-afternoon through the evening.
The JV NIT lineup includes teams from Blacksburg, Brookville, Franklin County, Northside, Patrick Henry, Roanoke Catholic, Rockbridge and William Byrd.
The varsity NIT tips off with Thursday’s 2:30 matchup between Roanoke Catholic and Franklin County. Blacksburg and Rockbridge follow at 4:15, with Northside taking on Chatham at 6:00 and the nightcap between William Byrd and North Cross starting at 7:45. The four winners in round-1 face-off at 6:00 and 7:45 on Friday night. The third-place game kicks off Saturday night at 6:00, with the NIT champion crowned in the title game at 7:45.
First round losers battle in the consolation rounds at 2:30 and 4:15 on both Friday and Saturday.
If you can’t make this barrage of games, there’s plenty more high school tournament action in January and early February. The annual Chance Harman Classic plays out at Floyd County High School January 4-5, where top teams throughout the region and the unparalleled sports auction typically fill the Buffalo bleachers.
January 12 brings the Leas Winter Classic to the Berglund Center court, followed by the Roy Stanley Classic on January 19 at Roanoke College and the Adam Ward Classic at Salem High School on February 2nd.
Bill Turner