The Bossier boys and Benton girls tournaments start Thursday.
For the first time since 2020, a champion will be crowned in the Bossier Invitational.
The tournament runs through Saturday with a full field of 16. It’s a bracket tournament for the first time since Bossier won the title five years ago.
The tournament was changed to a series of games in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 tournament was supposed to be an eight-team bracket tournament but it was hit hard by COVID-19. Ultimately only three teams competed.
The last two tournaments have been a series of games
When District 1-5A expanded in 2011, many 1-5A teams couldn’t compete because they were starting district play.
1-5A expanded this year again and has nine teams. However, the district is not playing a double round robin this season and that has freed up teams to enter the tournament.
Six 1-5A teams are competing — Airline (6-9), Parkway (8-7), Benton (6-6), Captain Shreve (9-5), Huntington (11-4) and Evangel Christian (8-8). The latter two are new additions to the district.
Other teams competing are Good Vision Academy, Trxas, Ouachita Parish (11-4), Loyola (7-7, Neville (11-4), Mansfield (8-10), Booker T. Washington (12-3), Northwood (6-11), Calvary Baptist (11-2() and, of course, Bossier (4-7).
Good Vision is located in Houston. According to its website, the academy’s goal is “to help high school basketball players looking to find the right prep school to elevate their basketball skill while getting exposure to colleges.”
Here is Thursday’s schedule.
Ouachita Parish vs. Loyola, 10 a.m.
Neville vs. Mansfield, 11:30
Evangel Christian vs. Northwood, 1 p.m.
Good Vision vs. Airline, 2:30
West Monroe vs. Captain Shreve, 4
Huntington vs. BTW, 5:30
Benton vs. Bossier, 7
Parkway vs. Calvary Baptist, 8:30
The Benton Lady Tiger Classic is a series of 10 games over three days at Benton High.
The tournament includes “Doc” Edwards Memorial Invitational champion Airline and runner-up Captain Shreve.
Airline will play only one game Saturday against Northwood at 1:30 p.m.
Here is the schedule.
THURSDAY
Plain Dealing (7-5) vs. Ruston (5-7), 4
Benton (13-7) vs. Zwolle (13-7), 5:30
Providence Classical Academy (7-1) vs. Green Oaks (1-13), 7
FRIDAY
Zwolle vs. Lakeside (2-10), 4
Captain Shreve (15-3) vs. Ruston, 5:30
Minden (6-6) vs. Benton, 7
SATURDAY
Bossier (4-10) vs. Zwolle, noon
Airline (12-1) vs. Northwood (7-8), 1:30
Minden vs. Captain Shreve, 3
Benton vs. Plain Dealing, 4:30