‘Tis the tournament season

The Christmas break is here for local basketball teams.

Well, except three of them.

The Kingfisher and Lomega girls and Cashion boys will hit the hardwood between Christmas and New Year’s Day as they test themselves against some of the state’s best basketball competition.

KHS will be playing Dec. 27-29 in the Mustang Holiday Classic.

Lomega will be taking part in the Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic in Ada.

It will take place Dec. 28-30.

Cashion travels up the Turner Turnpike to do battle in the 56th annual Tournament of Champions in Tulsa.

Those games will be played Dec. 27-29.

Mustang Holiday Classic

How do you like breakfast with your basketball?

That’s what Kingfisher players, coaches and fans will be doing in some respect Monday.

The Lady Jackets take on Putnam City North at 9 a.m. to begin the tournament, which also features a boys bracket.

The girls bracket features seven ranked Oklahoma teams as well as Springdale (Ark.) High School.

Kingfisher is ranked No. 8 in Class 4A and Putnam North is 17th in 6A.

The tournament also features 6A No. 1 Edmond North, 6A No. 8 Mustang, 5A No. 12 Piedmont, 3A No. 1 Jones and A No. 6 Strother.

Edmond North, Jones and Strother are all currently undefeated. Jones is the defending Class 3A state champion as well.

First-year coach Taylor Young has KHS entering the tournament with a 6-1 record and a five-game win streak.

“It’s always a pleasure getting invited to play in a holiday tournament with great competition against some of the best teams in the state in their respective classes,” she said.

Young said the tournament isn’t just a prep course for the playoffs, but for Kingfisher’s own upcoming schedule of games within the Western Athletic Conference.

On top of having already played No. 1 Tuttle, the Lady Jackets will take on the likes of No. 4 Weatherford, No. 6 Anadarko, No. 7 Blanchard and No. 12 Bethany.

“Playing in this tournament will help us get ready for that kind of schedule,” Young said.

Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic

The Lady Raiders are one of two No. 1-ranked teams in the Mid-America Classic, but all but one of the teams are ranked fourth or better in their respective classes.

Lomega will be joined by 4A No. 1 Tuttle, 4A No. 4 Weatherford, 3A No. 3 Perry, 2A No. 2 Amber-Pocasset, 2A No. 3 Latta, A No. 11 Frontier and B No. 2 Hammon.

The top-ranked team in Class B, Lomega (10-1) will take on Am-Po (5-0) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, in the opening round.

The teams are on the same side of the bracket as Frontier and Tuttle.

Tuttle and Lomega are also defending state champs in their respective classes.

“We’re excited to go test ourselves against some of the best teams in the state,” Lomega coach Kevin Lewallen said. “Even if you end up taking a loss or two, it’s good to get out there and see where you’re at as a team and where you need to improve.

“This will only help us in February and March.”

Tournament of Champions

Cashion has just one game under its belt thanks to the football team’s extended run in the playoffs.

The Wildcats enter the TOC ranked No. 2 in Class A.

They play 6A’s No. 1 Jenks at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 27.

“When the Tournament of Champions invites you to play in one of the more prestigious invitational tournaments in Oklahoma, it’s a pretty easy ‘yes,’” said Cashion coach John Hardaway.

Like the Mid-America Classic, the Tournament of Champions is by invite only.

Hardaway, whose Wildcats have qualified for the last two Class 2A state tournaments, said receiving that invite was an honor.

“There were some coaches and schools that have participated in it the last few years that recommended us to Tulsa Public Schools (the tournament host) as a quality team this year,” Hardaway said.

Other teams in the field include 6A No. 8 Owasso, 5A No. 1 Tulsa Memorial, 5A No. 3 Del City, 4A No. 2 Victory Christian, 4A No. 7 Crossings Christian and A #1 Hydro-Eakly.

Hydro-Eakly is the reigning state champ in Class A.

Del City won 6A a year ago before dropping down this season and Crossings Christian was last year’s 3A champ prior to bumping up this year.

Like Lewallen, Hardaway said the benefits of playing in the tournament outweigh the potential of taking losses.

“It’s no secret that small school teams that participate in the TOC traditionally do well in the state tournament,” he said.

“Winning there, at state, is our ultimate goal. The level of competition, the big arena and the attention the tournament receives only helps us down the road.”

The TOC will also feature a girls bracket.

(Ed. note: The Tournament of Champions will be live streamed in its entirety on Skordle.com. Lomega will be streaming its own games on LomegaRaiders.tv. Mustang will be broadcasting its tournament on mhsbroncosports.tv each day.)

Following is a complete schedule for both tournaments:

Tournament of Champions at BOK Center, Tulsa

Monday, Dec. 27

Game 1: Del City vs. Crossings Christian, 10:30 a.m.

Game 2: Jenks vs. Cashion, 1:30 p.m.

Game 3: Tulsa Memorial vs. Hydro-Eakly, 5:30 p.m.

Game 4: Owasso vs. Victory Christian, 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 28

Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, 10:30 a.m.

Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 1:30 p.m.

Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 5:30 p.m.

Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 29

7th place, 10:30 a.m.

5th place, 1:30 p.m.

3rd place, 5:30 p.m. Championship, 8:30

Championship, 8:30 p.m.

Mustang Holiday Classic Mustang High School

Monday, Dec. 27

Game 1: Putnam City North vs. Kingfisher, 9 a.m.

Game 2: Edmond North vs. Strother, noon

Game 3: Jones vs. Piedmont, 4 p.m.

Game 4: Mustang vs. Springdale (Ark.), 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 28

Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 9 a.m.

Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, noon

Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 4 p.m.

Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 29

7th place, 9 a.m.

5th place, noon

3rd place, 4 p.m.

Championship, 7 p.m.

Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic at East Central University

Tuesday, Dec. 28

Game 1: Frontier vs. Tuttle, 3 p.m.

Game 2: Lomega vs. Amber-Pocasset, 4:30 p.m.

Game 3: Weatherford vs. Hammon, 6:30 p.m.

Game 4: Latta vs. Perry, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 29

Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 3 p.m.

Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, 4:30 p.m.

Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 6:30 p.m.

Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 30

7th place, 3 p.m.

5th place, 4:30 p.m.

3rd place, 6:30 p.m.

Championship, 8 p.m.