As we approach the new year, in Shreveport-Bossier basketball, holiday tournaments are the focus of the area teams.
Historically speaking, every area team used to participate in the CNB Times Classic to prepare for their district season. While that tournament is gone, others have emerged to fill that holiday need.
In this edition of the Prep Hoops report, we will focus on the holiday tournament schedule in the twin cities and the other places our teams are playing during their holiday break.
The Doc Edwards Tournament
Nine area boys’ teams and seven girls’ teams from Shreveport-Bossier are participating in this post-Christmas staple. Day 1 was competitive as the teams in the twin cities found ways to pull out first-round wins.
On the boys’ side, top seed Captain Shreve defeated Ringgold 52-16. Host team Airline beat the Loyola Flyers 72-63 behind 42 combined points by Colby O’glee and Kevin White.
Huntington handled Class C state champion Gibsland-Coleman 70-46 and Bossier defeated crosstown rival Parkway. Benton won a thriller over Booker T. 43-41 and Northwood lost to perennial 2A power Lakeview 55-39.
These victories set up some interesting second-round meetings today. Lakeview and Huntington will begin the day at Airline followed by Airline and the Minden Crimson Tide. Bossier and Benton will meet at 3 o’clock with the winner facing Captain Shreve in the semifinals at 7:30 in Benton while the other winner will play their semifinal at Airline.
In the girls’ division, host team Airline will face Haynesville in the second round following convincing first-round wins by both teams. C.E. Byrd lost to Gibsland-Coleman in a tight matchup. The Lady Jackets will face Winnfield in a 9 a.m. tip at Cope Middle.
BTW lost a close one to Homer 41-39. The Lions will face the loser of the Benton-Logansport matchup at Cope as well. The Haughton Lady Bucs had a convincing win over St. Mary’s from Natchitoches. They will face the Northwood-Zwolle winner at noon in Benton.
Area teams playing elsewhere
The Southwood Lady Cowboys and Huntington Lady Raiders began their week in West Monroe playing in the Sidney Smith Invitational. Southwood went 1-1 during the first two days. The Lady Cowboys defeated Carroll 40-31 and lost to Albany 46-32. Huntington won its initial contest with Ponchatoula on Tuesday and faced Carroll on Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Raiders will face defending Class 3A champion Wossman today in what should be a must-watch game.
The only area boys’ team playing in the Sidney Smith Invitational is Calvary Baptist. The Cavs will face Neville from District 2-4A today followed by a contest with Ruston from District 2-5A on Friday.
The Evangel Eagles will hit the road to play in the Big 10 Classic at Scotlandville High on Saturday. They will face Liberty in a 2 p.m. matchup to kick off the day in Baton Rouge.
We will look forward to an interesting weekend as the Doc Edwards concludes and we look forward to next week as the Bossier Tournament/Invitational kicks off at Bossier High.
Contact Preston at preston9360@gmail.com or Twitter @peedee1906