Houston County set to host Bear Brawl tournament
The week before Christmas at Houston County means it is time for basketball as the Bears host the Bear Brawl, which will bring in 16 boys and girls basketball teams from as far away as Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to Middle Georgia.
Houston County boys head coach Stephen Walls sees the tournament as a great opportunity for his team to play three home games in four days. The tournament begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Houston County, with the girls teams playing their first-round games at Feagin Middle School.
"We feel like this tournament gives us a chance to get in full basketball mode after a great football season," said Walls, whose team enters the tournament at 2-4. "We are fortunate enough to have a quality field in both the girls and boys tournament, and we are excited about having some quality local teams, as well as some teams from other areas that are very strong. I know that we have a lot of guys that played football, and they are just getting into basketball shape, and I am sure we have some other teams going through that also.
"This gives us a great chance to see exactly where our teams are before the region schedule starts."
Friday's boys games tip off Northside facing Carver at 4:30 p.m. The Eagles enter the game with a 1-3 record while Carver, led by Jawon Pass, who has signed to play football at Louisville, is 5-1 heading.
The 6 p.m. game has Perry (6-1) facing Choctawhatchee (6-3) from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Perry is led by Damion Bagley and Georgia State signee Chris Clerkley, while Choctawhatchee features freshman Diante Smith, who is already making waves with recruiters as a top player in the class of 2019.
Houston County, which has never won the Bear Brawl, will open up with Bleckley County at 7:30 p.m., while the final game of the night features Veterans going against Westside.
"This tournament is a great opportunity to face a little diversity during games and see how we handle things," said Westside head coach Josh Grube, whose team is off to an 8-2 start. "The late start on Friday is definitely different for us because we really never start a game later than 7:30, but it will be good for us as a team. Plus, we love the chance to play three games in four days because we have been a team that will play great on a Friday night, and then not play so great if we have a Saturday game. We usually have a great feel for what we need to work on after a Christmas tournament like this."
The girls tournament's first day features Perry against Bleckley County at 5 p.m. and Warner Robins vs. Monroe at 6:30 p.m., while Houston County is also in the tournament.
The tournament continues through Monday.
This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 7:00 PM.