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As turkey-carving time nears, so does opening-round play of Holly Pond’s long-standing Thanksgiving basketball tournament, which is set to begin on Thursday afternoon.
The tournament began in 1957, making this its 56th rendition. It’s widely considered a time-honored tradition for some county schools.
“Most of us around Holly Pond and this area have grown up with this tournament,” Bronco boys coach Mitch Morris said. “It’s definitely a part of the community.”
Fairview joins Holly Pond as the only other school in Cullman County to participate in the tournament every year since its inception.
Most of the other county schools have played in it many years as well, according to Morris. “It’s a good competitive tournament,” he said. “All of the teams bring in good crowds, and there is a lot good basketball played.”
The host has won the tournament each of the past two seasons and will look to make it three in a row this time around.
Joining the Broncos in the eight-team field will be Vinemont, Fairview, Cullman, West Point, J.B. Pennington, Locust Fork and Arab.
Here’s the tournament schedule:
Thursday
Game 1 — Vinemont vs. J.B. Pennington, 4 p.m.
Game 2 — Fairview vs. Cullman, 5:15 p.m.
Game 3 — West Point vs. Locust Fork, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4 — Holly Pond vs. Arab, 8 p.m.
Friday
Game 1 — Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 4 p.m.
Game 2 — Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, 5:15 p.m.
Game 3 — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4 — Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 8 p.m.
Saturday
Fifth-place game, 9 a.m.
Consolation game, 10:30 a.m.
Championship game, Noon
Hanceville
The 30th annual Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament is slated to begin today at Wallace State.
The Bulldogs have won the tournament three years running but play host to several teams looking to put an end to the host’s current run as champions.
Local schools Cold Springs, Good Hope and St. Bernard join an eight-team field that’s rounded out by Corner, Mortimer Jordan, Hayden and Curry.
Here’s the Day 1 schedule:
Today
Game 1 — Cold Springs vs. Hayden, 4 p.m.
Game 2 — Corner vs. St. Bernard, 5:15 p.m.
Game 3 — Mortimer Jordan vs. Good Hope, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4 — Curry vs. Hanceville, 7:45
Danville
The fifth annual Danville High School Lady Hawks Thanksgiving Classic is slated to begin Wednesday and conclude on Friday.
County teams participating in the tournament are Cold Springs, Good Hope and Holly Pond.
They will be joined by Decatur, Lawrence, Hartselle, Brewer, East Lawrence, Austin, Rogers, Oneonta, Hatton, Priceville, Lexington, West Morgan and tournament host Danville.
Oneonta is the tournament’s defending champion.
% Jake Winfrey can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 258 or at jwinfrey@cullmantimes.com.
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