By Erik Harris
Area boys and girls basketball teams are set to compete in holiday tournaments. The Clay-Chalkville boys will travel to Hoover for the Big Orange Classic, while the Hewitt-Trussville and Clay-Chalkville girls will stay home for a New Year’s Shootout at Bryant Bank Arena.
Big Orange Classic
16 teams, including Clay-Chalkville, will converge at Hoover High School for the Buccaneers’ annual holiday boys basketball tournament, which begins on Dec. 26 and ends on Dec. 29.
The Cougars are scheduled to open bracket play on the 26th against Shelby County. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. Regardless of the outcome, Clay-Chalkville wont take the floor again until 5:15 p.m.
With a win over Shelby County, the Cougars would face the winner of Center Point-Bessemer City in the competition gym. A loss to Shelby County would pair them with the loser of Center Point-Bessemer City in the PE gym.
All teams will play twice on Saturday before taking Sunday off. Play will resume on Monday, with semifinal games scheduled for 5:30 and 7 p.m. in the competition gym. The tournament finals will be played at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
For a complete bracket: http://s3.amazonaws.com/vnn-aws-sites/1731/files/2015/11/96abd66683dc42f9-BOC-Varsity-Bracket.pdf
Hewitt-Trussville New Year’s Shootout
Much like last year, Hewitt-Trussville High School will host a holiday girls basketball tournament. The New Year’s Shootout opens on Dec. 26 and concludes on Dec. 29.
The Huskies welcome Clay-Chalkville, Gadsden City, Huffman, Fort Payne, JB Pennington, Fairfield and Scottsboro for tournament play.
Hewitt-Trussville will begin play against Scottsboro at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. A win would set the stage for a clash with the winner of JB Pennington-Fairfield on Monday at 11:30 a.m. With a loss, the Huskies would face the loser of JB Pennington-Fairfield on Monday at 10 a.m.
Clay-Chalkville is scheduled to face Fort Payne in the tournament opener on Saturday at 3 p.m. With a win, head coach Justin Haynie and the girls would face the winner of Gadsden City-Huffman on Monday at 2:30 p.m. A loss would pair them with the loser of Gadsden City-Huffman on Monday at 1 p.m.
The New Year’s Shootout championship game will be played on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Hewitt-Trussville fell to Fort Payne in the semifinals of last year’s tournament.
Erik Harris is the Sports Editor for the Trussville Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @jeharris2 or email him at jmseharris2@gmail.com.