Annual Best of Preps tournament set for next week

There will be plenty of after-Christmas presents for area prep basketball fans to enjoy.

After having to take last year off due to COVID-19 concerns, the annual Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament is set to return next week. The tournament, which features eight boys' and eight girls' teams - all from the Chattanooga area - will begin on Monday at East Hamilton High School.

Admission for each day of the tournament is $10.

The tournament had previously been held at Chattanooga State but has been relocated for this season because the new flooring inside the gym at CSTCC is not yet completed.

"We hate not getting to host the tournament again, but East Hamilton has really nice facilities and we appreciate them stepping up to be the host this year," said tournament director and Chattanooga State men's coach Jay Price. "I'm excited and I'm sure fans are too because this is one of the best lineups of games I ever remember having.

Best of Preps tournament at East Hamilton - Monday, December 27

Girls’ scheduleEast Hamilton vs. Boyd Buchanan, 10 a.m.Silverdale Baptist vs. LFO, 11:30Notre Dame vs. Meigs County, 1Signal Mountain vs. Rhea County, 2:30Boys’ scheduleNotre Dame vs. Signal Mountain, 4McCallie vs. Ooltewah, 5:30Tyner vs. Silverdale Baptist, 7Howard vs. Red Bank, 8:30

"We've got a lot of talented player and some of the best teams in the area for fans to come out and watch."

Monday's first round will tip off with four girls' games beginning at 10 a.m. with Boyd Buchanan facing East Hamilton, followed by Silverdale Baptist vs. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, Notre Dame vs. Meigs County and Signal Mountain vs. Rhea County.

The boys' matchups begin at 4 p.m. with Notre Dame taking on Signal Mountain, followed by McCallie vs. Ooltewah, Tyner vs. Silverdale Baptist and Howard vs. Red Bank in the nightcap.

Tuesday will feature semifinals in each bracket as well as loser's bracket games and the tournament wraps up on Wednesday with consolations and championship games.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis

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