By By Bruce Hixon Standard Sports Editor
The T.R. Miller Tigers and W.S. Neal Blue Eagles will square off against each other in the opening round of the Third Annual T.R. Miller Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament.
The Tigers and Blue Eagles will meet each other in the fourth and final game on December 27 at 7:30 p.m.
T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal are both in the bottom half of the eight-team bracket along with West Florida and Flomaton. West Florida and Flomaton will actually kick off the tournament earlier that day at 3 p.m.
In the top half of the bracket, defending TRM Tournament champ Greenville will meet tournament newcomer Monroe County at 4:30 p.m.
Another tournament newcomer, Andalusia, will square off against Mary Montgomery at 6 p.m. in the other top bracket, first-round game at 6 p.m.
Consolation and championship semifinals will be played December 28.
On the consolation side, the West Florida/Flomaton and T.R. Miller/W.S. Neal losers will kick off the second day of play at 3 p.m.
The Monroe County/Greenville and Andalusia/Mary Montgomery losers will square off in the other consolation semifinal at 4:30 p.m.
On the championship side of the bracket, the Monroe County/Greenville and Andalusia/Mary Montgomery winners will hook up at 6 p.m. The T.R. Miller/W.S. Neal and West Florida/Flomaton winners will meet in the other championship semifinal at 7:30 p.m.
Play concludes December 29 with the seventh place game at 3 p.m., the consolation championship at 4:30 p.m., the third place contest at 6 p.m. and the championship game at 7:30 p.m.
"It should be a great tournament. We've replaced a couple of the Florida schools (Northview and Pace) with a couple of good Alabama programs in Monroe County and Andalusia. They along with the rest of our field should make it a very competitive tournament," T.R. Miller coach Rob Atkinson said.
The first-round matchup at the T.R. Miller Tournament between the Tigers and W.S. Neal means those schools are guaranteed a minimum of four regular season meetings.
See BITS Page 7A
T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal also meet Friday at the Escambia County Tournament. They will hook up again January 11 at East Brewton and again January 21 at T.R.Miller.
The teams could also meet for a fifth time at the Area Tournament (and theoretically a sixth time deeper into the postseason road).
Class 3A Area 1, where T.R. Miller and W.S. Neal along with Straughn and Clarke County) has once again been paired up against Area 6 (Francis Marion, West Blocton, Aliceville and Sumter County) in the opening round of sub-regional play in the Southwest Regional.
The Southwest Regional will be held at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. The 3A girls regional will February 24 and February 26. The 3A boys regional will also be held at the University of South Alabama on February 24 and Fenruary 26.
The 3A boys and girls state tournament will be held at the Birmingham Civic Center on March 2 and March 5.
Jefferson Davis Community College softball coach Misti Nims will hold a camp Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at JDCC.
The camp is open for girls age eight through high school seniors.
The pre-registration fee is $25. Registration will be accepted the day of the camp at a fee of $30.
Brewton Youth Football and Cheerleaders will have their annual banquet December 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the T.R. Miller High School lunch room.
All players should bring their equipment at that time.
The organization will also have a meeting December 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the Brewton Public Library. Officers for next season will be elected.