As the approaching holiday season draws near, high school basketball teams are eagerly preparing to participate in a variety of tournaments, both locally and across the West Coast.
Locally, Fort Vancouver will be hosting the Myron Lawrence Memorial Basketball Tournament in honour of a former player and esteemed member of the school community. With its sixth year approaching, the tournament will consist of three brackets featuring teams from different schools. The event is scheduled to take place from Wednesday to Friday at Fort Vancouver High School and McLoughlin Middle School.
The girls round-robin tournament will include Fort Vancouver girls, River Ridge of Lacey, Kingston, and Ashland, Ore. The JaQuan Thomas Bracket, comprised of eight boys teams, will include schools such as Mountain View, Union, and Fort Vancouver. Meanwhile, the Jameel Morton Bracket, another eight-team boys bracket, will feature Hudson’s Bay, Columbia-White Salmon, and Heritage.
Numerous teams from the area will also participate in holiday tournaments up and down the West Coast. The Camas and Skyview girls basketball teams will be competing in separate brackets of the Holiday Classic in Portland, while the Evergreen boys and Woodland boys and girls will partake in the T-Town Throwdown in Tacoma. Several area teams, including the Columbia River boys and girls, Union girls, Hockinson girls, and Prairie girls, will journey to Southern California. Additionally, the Kelso boys and girls, along with the Ridgefield boys, will travel to Phoenix to compete in the Cactus Jam Phoenix Hoop Classic.
Other events showcasing local high school teams include the Sundome Shootout in Yakima, the Vince Dulcich Tournament in Astoria, Oregon, the Mountlake Terrace Tournament, and the Ilwaco Tournament.
For more information about the events and to communicate with the organisers, readers can contact Tim Martinez, the assistant sports editor/prep coordinator for The Columbian, at [email protected] or 360-735-4538. They can also follow @360TMart on Instagram and X (Twitter) for updates and additional details.