By Earl Vaughan Jr.
The annual Cumberland County Holiday Classic is set for Dec. 16-18, and once again the event will be divided into four separate tournaments for boys and girls in multiple locations.
Brackets for boys are named in honor of E.E. Smith coach Roy McNeil and South View coach Ron Miller.
The brackets for girls are named for Doris Howard of Cape Fear and Terry Sanford’s Gil Bowman.
McNeil bracket games will be at E.E. Smith for the early rounds with Miller bracket games at Seventy-First. The Howard bracket will be at Cape Fear and the Bowman bracket at Terry Sanford.
Consolation bracket games for third through seventh places will be held at the same gyms as the preliminary rounds.
All four championship games are set for Fayetteville State’s Capel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 18.
The McNeil bracket final is at 4 p.m., Miller bracket at 8 p.m., Howard bracket at 2 p.m. and Bowman bracket at 6 p.m.
Here are the first-round games for all four brackets. For the full schedule for each bracket go to www.ncprepsports.net.
Thursday
Boys
McNeil Bracket
At E.E. Smith
4 p.m. – Jack Britt vs. Westover; 5:30 p.m. – Richmond Senior vs. Corinth Holders, 7 p.m. – Seventy-First vs. Union Pines, 8:30 p.m. – Terry Sanford vs. South View.
Miller Bracket
At Seventy-First
4 p.m. – Gray’s Creek vs. Hoke County, 5:30 p.m. – Corinth Holders vs. New Hanover, 7 p.m. – Westover vs. Douglas Byrd, 8:30 p.m. – Seventy-First vs. Pine Forest.
Girls
Howard Bracket
At Cape Fear
4 p.m. – Douglas Byrd vs. Pine Forest, 5:30 p.m. – Garner vs. Scotland, 7 p.m. – Gray’s Creek vs. E.E. Smith, 8:30 p.m. – Cape Fear vs. Hoke County.
Bowman Bracket
At Terry Sanford
4 p.m. – Jack Britt vs. Westover, 5:30 p.m. – Richmond Senior vs. Corinth Holders, 7 p.m. – Seventy-First vs. Union Pines, 8:30 p.m. – Terry Sanford vs. South View.
• On Saturday, Jan. 8, Terry Sanford High School will officially retire baseball jersey No. 1 that Los Angeles Angels pitcher Austin Warren wore when he played for the Bulldogs. The ceremony will occur at a fundraising dinner at the Hellenic Center on Oakridge Avenue starting at 6 p.m.
Only 150 tickets are available at $100 per ticket.
Each ticket includes two admissions and two steak dinners.
There will also be a silent auction.
The keynote speaker is Randy Hood, head baseball coach at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. There will be other speakers as well.
Former Terry Sanford baseball players and aspiring country singers Tyler Tew and Bailey Morrison will provide entertainment.
To purchase tickets, contact Terry Sanford baseball coach Sam Guy via text at 910-322-2260 or email him at samuelguy@ccs.k12.nc.us.
