KELSEYVILLE >> Fourteen All-Tournament trophies, two MVP awards and five shiny trophies are part of the bling associated with the 23rd annual Record-Bee Hoop Classic boys basketball tournament as it opens its three-day run today at the Kelseyville High School gym.
The first game is also a big one as the Clear Lake and Middletown junior varsity squads square off at 2:30 p.m. Those two schools have combined to win the last 11 Hoop Classic team championships in the JV division. Today’s winner will own the critical head-to-head tiebreaker if nothing else. Both teams enter play undefeated – Clear Lake at 6-0 and Middletown at 3-0.
The remainder of the Thursday schedule has the Clear Lake-Middletown varsity teams playing at 4 p.m., the Kelseyville-Lower Lake JV clubs meeting at 5:30 p.m., and the Lower Lake-Kelseyville varsity teams facing off at 7 p.m. (the complete tournament schedule is listed at the end of the prep scoreboard on Page 7).
Beginning Friday and continuing Saturday, JV teams play first and the varsity teams follow in the late games. Free-throw and 3-point contests in the JV and varsity divisions are held Friday (JVs at approximately 4 p.m. and the varsity at approximately 7:30 p.m.).
The tournament format is round-robin, meaning every team plays every other team once. The team with the best record is declared the champion. A series of tie-breakers are in place to break any ties for first or second that may occur.
Middletown hosted the inaugural Hoop Classic in 1994. The tournament began a county rotation in 1996 and has taken place in six different gyms during its existence (all of the current county gyms plus the old Carl Delgado Gym at Lower Lake). Upper Lake left the tournament after 2010.
With the exception of the free-throw and 3-point contests on Friday, all tournament awards are presented following the final game on Saturday night.
The Hoop Classic is a major fundraiser for the host high school, which keeps all the gate and concession proceeds. Other expenses such as officials and trophies are offset by team entry fees and the Lake County Record-Bee, which also prepares the tournament programs. A limit number of programs are available on a first-come, first-served basis for $2 each. They include team rosters and a complete history of the tournament.
