By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Fresh off the heels of the Bill Snyder Women's basketball classic, Civic Arena will turn around and host high school basketball starting tomorrow.
St. Joseph Sports Commission Director Brett Esely says the third annual Holiday Hoops Classic begins tomorrow and runs through this weekend.
"16 games over three days, it tips off Thursday, December 19th, so the thing that was really important us, was we wanted to make sure our county high schools, every single one of them, got to play and that's the case for seven of the eight this year," Esely tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "And you might say well what happened to the eighth, well didn't work out for East Buchanan this year, because of scheduling, and opponents, and trying to find dates."
Esely says the action in the Holiday Hoops Classic begin tomorrow with the Lafayette girls taking on Columbia Battle
"We're trying to bring teams in from outside the area that maybe our teams don't play that often or haven't been here, so Battle High School from Columbia will come up and play Lafayette to tip off the event at 6pm," Eseley says. "And then the Lafayette boys will play Oak Park from Kansas City, that matchup is intriguing because the Lafayette boys, predominantly strong program, they were in the state final four in 2023, well the Oak Park boys were in the final four last year."
Holiday Hoops will also see matchups featuring Bishop LeBlond, Savannah, Benton, St. Joseph Christian, North Platte, Mid-Buchanan, and Central.
Esely says his team prides itself on providing an experience, saying it's a big deal for these high schools to come play at Civic Arena
"We dress it up for them just how we would dress it up for a national championship or a division one game, or our college showcases, we treat all of these events the same, like an experience," Esely explains. "I think our coaches and student athletes appreciate that, because what are we trying to prepare them to do? We're trying to prepare them postseason play and what they might see in March, and I think it's a big deal for them to come downtown and play in St. Joe."
Tickets can be purchased online at the St. Joseph Sports Commission website, or on the day of at Civic Arena.