Boys field looks wide open in 2009

By: Tommy Fleming | Morganton News Herald
Published: December 26, 2009

MORGANTON --

The 2009 Burke County Christmas Invitational boys basketball tournament kicks off Monday with eight teams looking for some momentum heading into their January conference slates.
The boys classic event includes two squads from the mountains, one from eastern North Carolina and five local teams.
This year's field includes AC Reynolds, East Burke, Freedom, Hibriten, McDowell, Northern Vance, Patton and TC Roberson.
"Three games in three days is tough on your body. But we will learn a lot about ourselves in these three days before we get into the meat of the conference schedule," said Freedom head coach Casey Rogers. "This is always a great tournament. There are a lot of good teams in this year's field. It should be very competitive."
In Monday's opening round games in Morganton, Hibriten faces McDowell (5:30 p.m.) followed by TC Roberson against host Freedom (8:30 p.m.).
In Icard, Northern Vance will collide with Patton (5:30 p.m.) before AC Reynolds matches up against host East Burke (8:30 p.m.).
"McDowell should be considered the favorite with the great start (9-0) they have produced thus far," said East Burke head coach Jon Hancock. "Right now our focus is to try and improve as a team. Hopefully, the three games we play in the tournament will help us."
The winner's bracket contests will be played at East Burke High this year while the consolation bracket games will be held at Freedom on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here's a brief glimpse of the teams in this year's Burke County Christmas Invitational:
Northern Vance — The Vikings make a return trip to Burke County to participate in the holiday clash. Northern Vance, from Henderson, went 2-1 in the 2008 tourney. The 3A school is off to an impressive 8-0 start this season. The Vikings leading scorer is Shawn Brown.
Patton — The Panthers started the season 6-1 but are on a three-game slide including a tough three-point loss to Shelby on Tuesday. Patton has seven seniors and is led by center Tyler Woody and point guard Aaron Attaway.
Hibriten — The Panthers are off to a slow 2-5 start due mainly to the team's late run in the football playoffs. Hibriten has an early season loss to Patton. The Panthers are an athletic squad led by Darius Lipford, Josh Dula and Cody Palmer.
McDowell — The Titans are turning some heads in the early season with a 9-0 start, the best in 14 seasons. McDowell has two wins each against both Patton and Freedom. The Titans are led by point guard Eli Miller and senior power forward Chavis Hamilton, who tallied 19 points and 24 rebounds in Wednesday's conference win against North Buncombe.
AC Reynolds — The Rockets are the surprise team coming into the tourney. Nine football players (AC Reynolds won the state 4A football championship on Dec. 12) have recently joined the varsity squad so the Rockets 0-4 record may be misleading.
East Burke — The Cavaliers have quality wins against both South Caldwell and Freedom. East Burke (3-4) has two close losses to Patton. The Cavs are led by seniors Justin Lail and Jesse Huff along with freshman guard Clay Byrd.
TC Roberson — The Rams enter the tourney with wins against Crest and a low scoring 31-30 victory against West Henderson. TC Roberson suffered a 13-point conference loss to McDowell on Dec. 15. The Rams finished 17-7 a year ago.
Freedom — The defending Burke County Christmas Invitational champs are still trying to find their identity. The Patriots are 5-5 on the season with includes a series split with East Burke and a 1-2 start in the SMAC-7. Freedom is led by junior Jordan Jacotine along with the senior trio of Anthony Thomas, Dean O'Neil and Tyler Hensley.

Boys field looks wide open in 2009

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