Eight of the state’s top-ranked high school basketball teams, including Class 3’s No. 1-ranked Strafford Lady Indians against Class 4’s No. 2-ranked Lincoln College Prep, will play Saturday in Bolivar for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Basketball Classic presented by Citizens Memorial Hospital.
Eight games are set to be played beginning at 10 a.m. at Southwest Baptist University’s Meyer Center in the first MSHOF Basketball Classic ever held in the Ozarks.
Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for middle school and high school students as well as for seniors and military veterans. Anyone 11 and younger will be admitted free. One ticket is good for the entire day.
“The purpose of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Basketball Classics are to showcase the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame’s support for high school basketball in the state of Missouri, while also matching teams against opponents from out of the area that they would not ordinarily get to play during the season,” said Byron Shive, the tournaments’ Executive Director.
“In addition, the Hall of Fame Classics will give basketball fans an opportunity to watch a full day of quality games in one location and for one low price.
The Spokane High School boys play Twin Rivers at 10 a.m., followed by Class 3’s No. 2-ranked Licking girls against Class 2’s No. 2-ranked Hartville at 11:30 a.m. The Licking boys, ranked No. 6 in Class 3, take on Hillcrest at 1 p.m. The Walnut Grove girls, ranked No. 2 in Class 1, take on Class 2’s No. 9-ranked Mid-Buchanan at 2:30 p.m., before Strafford’s boys play Mid-Buchanan at 4 p.m. The Strafford boys were receiving votes in the latest Missouri Basketball Coaches Association rankings.
The Stafford-Lincoln College Prep game is at 5:30 p.m. University of Missouri-signee Hayley Frank and the Lady Indians have won the Class 3 state championship each of the past three seasons and could be seeking their 99th consecutive win Saturday. The girls state record is 102 consecutive wins, set by Marshfield High School in 1990.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo girls play Cassville at 7 p.m., and the Bolivar boys play Harrisonville at 8:30 p.m.
