BASK: 3rd Annual Tenaha tourney begins Tuesday
playing at the Third Annual Tenaha Holiday Scholarship Tournament
which begins on Tuesday. (Photo by John Krueger)
Some of the best small school basketball in the state of Texas will be showcased next week when Tenaha hosts the Third Annual Tenaha Holiday Hoops Scholarship Tournament Tuesday through Thursday (Dec. 27-29).
There will be 32 boys and girls team - including 12 of which are ranked in the Top 20 in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches - playing 58 games in local venues to see which squads will walk away with the respective championship trophies.
Games will be played at the Tenaha Special Events Center and Tiger Gym on the THS campus, along with Joaquin's new Ram Gymnasium, Bobcat Gymnasium in Gary and Panola College's Arthur Johnson Gymnasium. Fans can pay one admission price each day and receive an arm band so they can watch all the action at any arena. Adults will pay $6 for an armband, while students will be charged $4 per day.
In the boys' bracket, some of the top teams include No.2-ranked White Oak (Class 2A), No.2 Tenaha (1A D-I) and No.2 Laneville (1A D-II), along with No.3-ranked Stamford (1A D-I), No.3 Edgewood (2A) and No.24-ranked Central Heights (2A).
Other boys teams participating are Mount Enterprise, San Augustine, Leggett, Chireno, Garrison, Kountze, Saltillo, Hughes Springs and Elysian Fields.
There are five state-ranked girls team in the tourney. Those squads include top-ranked Lipan (1A D-II), No.2 Saltillo (1A D-II), No.7 Tatum (2A), No. 13 Slocum (1A D-I) and Edgewood (2A).
Other girls teams will consist of Tenaha, Leggett, Hughes Springs, Chireno, San Augustine, Stamford, Sabine, White Oak, Garrison, Elysian Fields and Arp.
Complete brackets for the double-elimination tourney can be found at www.tenahaisd.com. The brackets will be updated throughout the tournament and schedules and scores will be updated throughout each day on www.PineyWoodsSports.com as well.
"We've always had the philosophy of selling our school and our programs, and when the Special Events Center was completed we didn't see why we couldn't have one of the best events in the state here," said tournament spokesperson and THS Principal Scott Tyner. "We feel like, after a couple of years, our hospitality and the competition we bring here makes this the best small school tournament in the state.
"Our vision is to be the best, and we believe that the success of our programs here at Tenaha comes from the competition we compete against, and what better way than to bring them here."
As has been done in the past two years, the Holiday Hoop Scholarship Tournament will present one senior player from each team with a $200 college scholarship, meaning $6,400 in scholarship money will be presented at the end of the three-day double-elimination tourney.
"We want to express our appreciation to the generosity of J. Ken Muckleroy, Attorney-at-Law, in Center and Panola County Abstract and Title Company in Carthage, whose gifts have helped make the scholarships available," Tyner added. "It's a great selling point to this tournament and teams know they are getting something back from attending, in addition to playing some great competition."
Tyner said the facilities that these will be playing in will also give something extra to the athletes participating in the tourney, with a college venue (A.J. Gymnasium at Panola) and three state-of-the-art high school areas which all have 100% chairback seats
"Not only will the teams play some of the best competition in Class 1A and 2A in the state, but they will be playing in some great playoff-type venues while they are here," he stated. "They provide chair-back style seating with great comfort that fans can come and watch all day long.
"This year we've added the new facility in Joaquin, which is different from the SEC here in Tenaha, but is a great facility in itself.
"And here at the SEC we provide a quality restaurant with great food at an affordable price so fans can stay right here and get everything they need without having to leave the arena."
Some of the meals which will be sold at the Tiger Cafe include Philly cheese steak, Cajun fried catfish, chicken fried steak, boiled shrimp, oysters on the half-shell, hamburgers, chicken wings and chicken strips. Meals, which include coleslaw or salad, baked potato or French fries and iced tea, are priced at only $5.95. There is also a concession stand at each of the arenas.
The action will get underway Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the four venues. All the action will move to Tenaha beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as all day on Thursday.
Third Annual Tenaha Holiday Scholarship Tournament
Boys Schedule
Tuesday, Dec. 27
San Augustine vs. #18 Lipan (at SEC), 9 a.m.
Mt. Enterprise vs. #2 White Oak (at Panola), 10:30 a.m.
Garrison vs. Kountze (at Gary), 10:30 a.m.
#24 C. Heights vs. Saltillo (at SEC), 10:30 a.m.
Leggett vs. #3 Edgewood (at Joaquin), 12-noon
#3 Stamford vs. Chireno (at SEC), 12-noon
Hughes Springs vs. #2 Laneville (at Panola), 12-noon
#2 Tenaha vs. Elysian Fields (at Tiger Gym), 12-noon
Garrison/Kountze winner vs. C.Heights/Saltillo winner (at SEC), 5 p.m.
Mt. Enterprise/White Oak winner vs. San Augustine/Lipan winner (at Tiger Gym), 6:30 p.m.
Hughes Springs/Laneville winner vs. Tenaha/E. Fields winner (at SEC), 6:30 p.m.
Leggett/Edgewood winner vs. Stamford/Chireno winner (at SEC), 8 p.m.
Girls Schedule
Tuesday, Dec. 27
Chireno vs. #13 Slocum (at Tiger Gym), 9 a.m.
#7 Tatum vs. San Augustine (at Joaquin), 9 a.m.
Garrison vs. Elysian Fields (at Gary), 9 a.m.
#2 Saltillo vs. Arp (at Panola), 9 a.m.
Leggett vs. #1 Lipan (at Joaquin), 10:30 a.m.
Tenaha vs. H. Springs (at Tiger Gym), 10:30 a.m.
Sabine vs. White Oak (at Gary), 12-noon
Stamford vs. #11 Edgewood (at SEC), 1:30 p.m.
Chireno/Slocum winner vs. Tatum/San Augustine winner (at SEC), 3:30 p.m.
Garrison/E. Fields winner vs. Saltillo/Arp winner (at Tiger Gym), 3:30 p.m.
Leggett/Lipan winner vs. Tenaha/H.Springs winner (Tiger Gym), 5 p.m.
Stamford/Edgewood winner vs. Sabine/White Oak winner (at Tiger Gym), 8 p.m.