Format changed as county hoops squads battle for bragging rights –
By Mark Carpenter –
A year of bragging rights will once again be on the line as the 2017 McDonald’s Holiday Classic comes to West Union High School on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30. When the local teams set their goals for the season, winning the McDonald’s Classic is usually listed and two days of play to close out the 2017 portion of their schedules will decide who takes home the crown.
The first thing fans will notice is that the format for the 2017 Classic has totally changed and the JV portion of the tourney, which was previously played in the mornings and afternoons, has been totally eliminated. There is a new two-day format for the varsity tournament with four games each day, with the action beginning each day at 3 p.m.
For a single admission price of $8, fans can watch all four games, with that price being $5 for students and senior citizens- a whole day of Adams County basketball for one price.
The action begins at 3 p.m. on Dec. 29 with a varsity girls game, and a nice match up, pitting the Peebles Lady Indians against the North Adams Lady Devils. Following that at approximately 4:30 p.m. will be a match up between the varsity boys teams from Peebles and North Adams.
The third game on Friday, scheduled for 6 p.m., will see the Manchester Lady Greyhounds face off with the host team, the West Union Lady Dragons, followed at 7:30 p.m. with the varsity boys teams from Manchester and West Union battling for the first time this season.
Not only is a place in the Saturday finals on the line in those Friday contests, but each one of them also counts in the standings in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, making them doubly important.
The action begins again at 3 p.m. on Saturday with the girls consolation game, followed at 4:30 p.m. by the boys consolation game, both with third place trophies on the line.
The final two games on Saturday will be the Classic championship battles, matching up the winners of the four Friday contests. First up at 6 p.m. will be the girls championship tilt, followed by the boys championship at 7:30 p.m.
The McDonald’s Classic is always a highlight of the basketball season in Adams County and the match ups for the 2017 tournament are sure to be played before big crowds and to be very exciting. Don’t miss it!
