(Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Landon Davenport drives the lane as Glencoe’s Aiden Cornutt (3) and Jayden Patton defend during the 2022-23 Etowah County Schools Tournament championship game. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
The annual Etowah County School basketball tournament is set to get underway.
This year’s event will take place at Hokes Bluff High School from Jan. 15-19. Admission is $10 per person per night. Children under age 10 are admitted free with a paying adult.
In the girls’ bracket, Sardis will be gunning for its third straight championship. The Lady Lions defeated Glencoe by 36 points in last season’s title game after edging Southside by two points in the semifinals. This year, No. 1 seed Sardis and No. 2 seed Southside are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning that the two teams will not meet until the championship game. In the rest of the tournament seedings, Glencoe is third, Hokes Bluff fourth andGaston fifth.
On the boy’s side, Glencoe will be defending its first championship since 2017. In last year’s final, the Yellow Jackets battled back from a 15-point deficit to edge Hokes Bluff, 63-61. Class 5A No. 9 Sardis is the No. 1 seed, followed in order by Glencoe, Hokes Bluff, Gaston, Southside and West End.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
Monday, January 15
Girls
5:30 p.m. – Hokes Bluff vs. Gaston
Boys
7 p.m. – Gaston vs. Southside
Tuesday, January 16
Girls
5:30 p.m. – Glencoe vs. West End
Boys
7 p.m. – Hokes Bluff vs. West End
Wednesday, January 17
Girls
6 p.m. – Southside vs. Hokes Bluff/Gaston winner
Boys
7:30 p.m. – Sardis vs. Gaston/Southside winner
Thursday, January 18
Girls
6 p.m. – Sardis vs. Glencoe/West End winner
Boys
7:30 p.m. – Glencoe vs. Hokes Bluff/West End winner
Friday, January 19
Girls
6:15 p.m. – championship
Boys
7:45 p.m. – championship