By MATT PIKE
For a third straight year the St. Joseph Sports Commission will ring in the new year by welcoming high school basketball fans to the Civic Arena for the third annual New Year's Winter High School Basketball Showcase.
This year's schedule will feature eight games on Saturday January 2nd, with all four St. Joseph high school teams, and six of the eight games with big out of state matchups. The schedule opens with St. Joseph Christian taking on North Platte in girls action at 10 AM followed by the boys at 11:30 AM. The North Platte boys are coming off a memorable season where they made the programs first ever trip to the Final Four and returned home with a third place Class 3 finish, going 27-5 overall on the season.
Bishop LeBlond will take on Doniphan West from the Kansas side in the second doubleheader of the day. with the girls tipping at 1 PM followed by the boys at 2:30 PM. Then, in the featured doubleheader of the schedule, at 4 PM the Benton girls fresh will take on Norris High School out of Nebraska who. The Benton Lady Cardinals are coming off their third consecutive trip to the MSHSAA Class 4 Final Four while Norris finished 23-4 a season ago and placed third in Class B.
A high-level out of state boys matchup will take place at 5:30 PM as Norris High School. finishing 23-3 overall and third place in Nebraska Class B last season, face Kansas Class 6 State Champion Olathe North, who finished 24-4 last season. The nightcap will then feature the final two St. Joseph teams as Central takes on Atchison in a boys/girls doubleheader tipping at 7 & 8:30 PM respectively. On the boys side, the Phoenix finished last season 26-2 and advanced to the Kansas 4A State Final Four.
“Scheduling for this event was a bit tricky this year due to the way the calendar fell,” Executive Director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission Brett Esely says in a news release. “In a perfect world, we always want this event to be a two day schedule as there is definite interest."
"However with high school scheduling norms, not wanting to play on New Year’s Day and trying to avoid competition on Sunday, we focused on a one day event which will feature some highly intriguing contests!”
Ticket information will be released in late fall in which all sales will be facilitated online and through the Civic Arena Box Office. Sponsorship opportunities for the event are available by contacting the sports commission.
2027 ST. JOSEPH SPORTS COMMISSION WINTER HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SHOWCASE PRESENTED BY: FASTGAS
Saturday, January 2
10:00 AM – St. Joseph Christian vs. North Platte (G)
11:30 AM – St. Joseph Christian vs. North Platte (B)
1:00 PM – LeBlond vs. Doniphan West (Kan.) (G)
2:30 PM – LeBlond vs. Doniphan West (Kan.) (B)
4:00 PM – Benton vs. Norris (Neb.) (G)
5:30 PM – Norris (Neb.) vs. Olathe North (Kan.) (B)
7:00 PM – Central vs. Atchison (Kan.) (G)
8:30 PM – Central vs. Atchison (Kan.) (B)
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