Merry Christmas! And what better gift could a prep basketball fan get during the holidays than to watch their favorite teams in holiday tournaments. Twenty of Whatcom County’s 22 boys and girls teams will play in holiday hoops tournaments, including two right here in the county.
The Cloud 9 Sports Christmas Classic has 21 boys and girls teams from Western Washington — including both squads from Sehome, Ferndale, and Lynden Christian, and the Lynden and Meridian girls — as well as the De Le Salle boys from Portland, Ore.
Games will be played Friday and Saturday, Dec. 27 and 28, at both Lynden and Lynden Christian high schools.
The Blaine Holiday Classic will bring together 12 teams, including both boys and girls from Lummi Nation and host Blaine, as well as the Bellingham girls and Mount Baker boys.
Games also will be played Friday and Saturday with ticket prices being the same as the regular season: $6 for adults, $3 for students and seniors.
The only other girls team playing is Nooksack Valley, which is at the Chelan Winter Tournament. The Pioneers will take on Life Christian, a 2B school from Tacoma, on Friday and then play either host Chelan or Eastside Prep of Kirkland on Saturday.
The Meridian and Lynden boys will get a preview of where their state tournaments are played when they travel to Yakima for the Wilbur-Ellis SunDome Shootout, one of the biggest holiday tournaments in Eastern Washington.
The Nooksack Valley boys may have the biggest challenge when they join three Class 4A schools at the Auburn Riverside Holiday Classic. The 1A Pioneers open the tournament against undefeated host Auburn Riverside at 7 p.m.
The Bellingham boys will be at the unique 1A/2A/3A/4A Holiday Challenge, which brings together a team from each of the four classifications. The 2A Red Raiders will open Friday against the 1A host, the Northwest School of Seattle.
The Squalicum boys have the furthest to go, participating in the Tustin Holiday Classic from Dec. 26 to 30. The 16-team tournament features nine teams from the Los Angeles area, including host Tustin High and the Storm’s first-round opponent, Woodrow Wilson of Long Beach.
Here’s the schedule for the Whatcom County teams and local tournaments:
Girls
CLOUD 9 SPORTS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC
At Lynden Christian
Friday, Dec. 27: King’s vs. Montesano, noon; Port Angeles vs. Ferndale, 4:45 p.m.; Lynden Christian vs. Seattle Prep, 6:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Overlake vs. Sehome 11 a.m.; Seattle Prep vs. Port Angeles, 2:15 p.m.; Meridian vs. King’s, 3:45 p.m.; Lynden Christian vs. Sequim, 5:30 p.m.
At Lynden High School
Friday, Dec. 27: Gig Harbor vs. Meridian, 1:30 p.m.; Lynden vs. Overlake, 4:45 p.m.; Sehome vs. Sequim, 6:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Montesano vs. Lynden, 3:45 p.m.; Ferndale vs. Gig Harbor, 5:30 p.m.
BLAINE HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT
Blaine High School
Friday, Dec. 27: Lummi Nation vs. Bellingham, noon; Renton vs. Lakewood, 3 p.m.; University Prep vs. Blaine, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Dec 28: Lakewood vs. Lummi Nation, 11:30 a.m.; Bellingham vs. University Prep, 2:30 p.m.; Renton vs. Blaine, 5:30 p.m.
CHELAN WINTER TOURNAMENT
Friday, Dec. 27: Nooksack Valley vs. Life Christian, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Nooksack Valley vs. either Chelan or Eastside Prep, either noon or 2 p.m.
Boys
CLOUD 9 SPORTS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC
At Lynden Christian
Friday, Dec. 27: Sehome vs. Montesano, 1:30 p.m.; Washougal vs. Sequim, 3:15 p.m.; Lynden Christian vs. Monroe, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: De Le Salle (Ore.) vs. Monroe, 12:30 p.m.; Lynden Christian vs. Glacier Peak, 7 p.m.
At Lynden High School
Friday, Dec. 27: Bear Creek vs. Ferndale, noon; Glacier Peak vs. De Le Salle (Ore.), 3 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Sequim vs. Sehome, 11 a.m.; Ferndale vs. Washougal, 12:30 p.m.; Montesano vs. Bear Creek, 2:15 p.m.
BLAINE HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT
Blaine High School
Friday, Dec. 27: Lummi Nation vs. Stanwood, 1:30 p.m.; Mount Baker vs. University Prep, 4:30 p.m.; Lynnwood vs. Blaine, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec 28: University Prep vs. Lummi Nation, 1 p.m.; Mount Baker vs. Lynnwood, 4:30 p.m.; Stanwood vs. Blaine, 7 p.m.
WILBUR-ELLIS SUNDOME SHOOTOUT
At Yakima SunDome
Friday, Dec. 27: Meridian vs. Bellevue Christian, 3 p.m.; Lynden vs. Prairie, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Meridian vs. Royal, noon; Lynden vs. Davis, 3 p.m.
AUBURN RIVERSIDE HOLIDAY CLASSIC
Friday, Dec. 27: Nooksack Valley vs. Auburn Riverside, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Nooksack Valley vs. either Emerald Ridge (Puyallup) or Kent Meridian, either 3:30 or 5 p.m.
1A/2A/3A/4A HOLIDAY CHALLENGE
The Northwest School (Seattle)
Friday, Dec. 27: Bellingham vs. Northwest School, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, 28: Bellingham vs. either Bonney Lake or Thomas Jefferson, either noon or 1:30 p.m.
TUSTIN HOLIDAY CLASSIC
Tustin, Calif.
Thursday, Dec. 26: Squalicum vs. Woodrow Wilson (Long Beach), 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 27: Squalicum vs. TBD
Saturday, Dec. 28: Squalicum vs. TBD