PORT TOWNSEND — Basketball fans are in a for a post-Christmas present when The Crush in the Slush, a high school basketball tournament featuring eight girls and six boys teams, tips off today and Tuesday at Port Townsend High School.
Seven games are scheduled each day. The full complement of contests starts at 9 a.m. with the final game set to begin at 7:30 p.m. both days.
The tournament opens at 9 a.m. today with a matchup between the Port Townsend girls (2-5) and the Aussie Travelers, a team of players from the Melbourne, Australia suburb of Keilor.
Other area teams competing include the Port Townsend boys and the Neah Bay boys and girls.
The Red Devils girls (4-2) will face the Class 2A Bellingham Red Raiders (1-8) at
4 p.m. today.
The Redhawks (1-5) and Red Devils boys (3-2 will follow that game with a scheduled 5:45 p.m. tip.
Other girls teams participating include: Lakewood (Arlington) 3-2, Squalicum (2-6) and Nooksack Valley (6-3).
The Bainbridge girls varsity (1-4) and junior varsity also will compete.
On the boys side, Nooksack Valley (6-3), Bellingham (3-6), Seattle Christan (1-4) and Maple Ridge, a team from the Vancouver, British Columbia suburbs, will compete.
The Crush in the Slush is a post-Christmas tradition hosted by the Port Townsend Basketball Club, and has produced numerous thrilling endings and upsets, and even seen a current NBA player take the floor.
That player, Kelly Olynyk, a former Gonzaga Bulldog, and a first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics, saw his South Kamloops, B.C. team defeated in overtime by Port Townsend in the 2008 edition of the Crush.
Prices for one-day tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and children; two-day passes are $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and children.
Sponsoring the tournament this year are Charley Kanieski of The Business Guides, Homer Smith Insurance, Dr. Jay Lawrence, the Jefferson County YMCA and the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader.
A full schedule of games can be found on Page B2.
