Area prep basketball fans who stayed home for the holidays could be into a little slice of heaven this week because there will be two major tournaments going on at the same time.
The popular annual Crush in the Slush tourney at Port Townsend High School will feature 14 boys and girls varsity teams Wednesday and Thursday. There will be eight boys teams and six girls squads.
And just down the road at Port Angeles High School will be the first Winter Classic Basketball Tournament that will showcase four varsity boys and four JV boys teams Wednesday and Thursday.
Port Angeles boys basketball coach Wes Armstrong said that the Roughriders aren’t looking to compete with the granddaddy Port Townsend tourney but that they just wanted to stay home for Christmas vacation.
“Normally, we travel a lot during the holidays,” Armstrong said.
“We just wanted to host our own tourney so we could stay home for the holidays. Both Port Angeles and Port Townsend are great places for other teams to come and spend the holidays and look over.”
While Armstrong said he expects the influx of outside teams will help the Port Angeles economy, it won’t do a lot to raise money for the school.
“We expect to break even after playing the refs, and any extra money we will give to the ASB fund, but it probably won’t be a lot.”
Port Angeles athletic director Dwayne Johnson said the price of admission for each day would be the same for a regular basketball game.
“And it will be good for all day,” Johnson said.
PA vs. Overlake
Besides host Port Angeles, other varsity teams at the tourney will be Overlake of Redmond, King’s of Seattle and Anacortes.
The Riders will open against Overlake, which is a private school like King’s, at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
King’s will take on Anacortes at 6 p.m. the opening day while the JV schedule will have Port Angeles playing Kingston at
2 p.m. and King’s playing Crescent varsity at 4 p.m.
Armstrong said he is expecting a competitive tourney.
“King’s is always a 1A state contender while Overlake and Anacortes both play in strong leagues,” he said.
Wednesday’s winners play Thursday in the championship game at 5 p.m. while the losers play for third place at 1 p.m.
The JV winners play Thursday at 3 p.m. for all the marbles while the losers compete for third at 11 a.m.
The Riders varsity may not be at full force because of injuries to two key players.
Hayden McCartney is still nursing an injury he received in the North Kitsap game and is doubtful for the tourney while bit 6-foot-8 center Easton Napiontek is still dealing with a back injury.
“Easton probably won’t play because he is too valuable,” Armstrong said.
“We don’t want to rush him. There is still plenty of basketball season left and then there is the baseball season ahead.”
Napiontek signed a letter-of-intent in fall to play baseball at Central Washington University.
Crush in the Slush
PORT TOWNSEND — The annual Crush in the Slush tourney turns national with the Santa Fe Christian girls team from Solana Beach, Calif., scheduled for this year.
Jefferson County archrivals Port Townsend and Chimacum will have both their teams at the tourney with the two boys teams meeting each other at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday and the two girls squads going head-to-head Thursday at 4 p.m.
The Chimacum boys will put their perfect 7-0 record on the line at the tourney.
Wednesday’s opening schedule for the boys will have Seattle Academy vs. Orting at 10:45 a.m., Kingston vs. Woodinville at 2”15 p.m., the Redskins vs. the Cowboys as 5:45 p.m. and Lake Stevens vs. Ingraham at 7:30 p.m.
In girls action, North Mason plays Chimacum at 9 a.m., Santa Fe Christian vs. Seattle Academy at 12:30 p.m. and Port Townsend vs. Orting at 4 p.m.
In second-day boys action Thursday, the losers between Seattle Academy and Orting, and Port Townsend and Chimacum play at 10:45 a.m., and the losers between Kingston and Woodinville, and Lake Stevens and Ingraham compete at 2:15 p.m.
In the victory circle, the Port Townsend-Chimacum winner plays the Seattle Academy-Orting winner at 5:45 p.m. for the Division 2 championship, and the Kignston-Woodinville winner plays the Lake Stevens-Ingraham winner at 7:30 p.m. for the Division 1 title.
In second-day girls action, Seattle Academy plays Orting at 9 a.m., North Mason takes on Santa Fe Christian at 12:30 p.m. and the Redskins play the Cowboys at 4 p.m.
Admission for adults is $6 per day or $10 for two days; students, senior citizens and children $3 per day or $5 for two days.
Port Townsend Basketball Club sponsors the event and the proceeds benefit youth sports.
Corporate sponsors include Homer Smith Insurance, Edward Jones, The Leader, Russ Hoover, Charlie Kaniesky, CPA and Dr. Jay Lawrence.
