Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
NEA tourney set to tip off
Marmaduke, CRA teams to see action
Three Greene County teams will see action this week as the annual Northeast Arkansas Invitational high school basketball tournament gets under way at the ASU Covocation Center in Jonesboro.
The first game of the high school invitational tournament is scheduled for 10:30 Wednesday morning when Highland takes on Manila in a girls’ Division II game.
The Crowley’s Ridge Academy boys play McCrory in a Division II game at 3 p.m. Wednesday. On Thursday, Marmaduke faces conference rival Riverside at 6 p.m. in a Division II boys’ first-round contest. The Marmaduke girls begin NEA play Friday with a 10:30 a.m. game against Trumann.
The CRA girls along with the Rector boys and girls team see their first NEA action next week. The Lady Falcons play Armorel at 9 a.m. Monday.
Also Monday in Division II the top-seeded Lady Cougars of Rector play the Maynard-Cedar Ridge winner in a second-round game at noon. Rector’s boys take on Maynard at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
The tournament, which will run through Dec. 30, will have a different divisional format, a different playing schedule and at least one significant absence from its boys’ and girls’ fields.
After dividing its divisions based on classification the last few years, the tournament will split the brackets based on enrollment. Both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments will have a Division I and a Division II bracket. The top 15 largest schools based on Arkansas Activities Association enrollment figures for the 2010-12 cycle will play in the Division II, with the remainder playing in Division I. That means some teams in the same conference are in different divisions for the NEA.
And, for the first time since the tournament moved to the Convocation Center, all games will be played on the main floor. Early rounds of the girls’ tournament — now in its 35th year — have been played on the upper level of the Convocation Center for the past several years.
Another change for the NEA involves the tournament field. For the first time in recent memory, and perhaps since the tournament began, neither Jonesboro High School’s boys’ or girls’ team will be in the tournament.
Jonesboro won last year’s Class 4A-5A-6A boys’ championship, beating Westside in the title game. The Jonesboro girls lost to Nettleton in last year’s 4A-5A-6A final.
Westside, which is off to a 6-0 start this season, is the No. 1 seed in the Division II boys’ bracket. Defending Class 1A state champion Bay is the top seed in the Division I boys’ bracket. In the girls’ divisions, Nettleton is the top seed in Division II, while Rector is the No. 1 seed in Division I.
First-round Games in the 15-team boys’ Division II bracket include No. 2 East Poinsett County vs. No. 15 Tuckerman, No. 3 Valley View vs. No. 14 Salem, No. 4 Trumann vs. No. 13 Highland, No. 5 Marmaduke vs. No. 12 Riverside, No. 6 Osceola vs. No. 11 Walnut Ridge, and No. 7 Nettleton vs. No. 10 Rivercrest.
Bay will take on No. 16 seed Sloan-Hendrix in the 16-team boys’ Division 1 bracket. Other games include No. 2 Cedar Ridge vs. No. 15 Cross County, No. 3 Izard County Consolidated vs. No. 14 Armorel, No. 4 Augusta vs. No. 13 Black Rock, No. 5 Marked Tree vs. No. 12 Weiner, No. 6 Rector vs. No. 11 Maynard, No. 7 Hillcrest vs. No. 10 Ridgefield Christian, and No. 8 McCrory vs. No. 9 CRA.
In the girls’ Division II bracket, top seed Nettleton has a bye and will take on the winner of the first-round game between No. 8 Highland and No. 9 Manila in the quarterfinals. Other first-round games include No. 2 seed Buffalo Island Central vs. No. 15 Tuckerman, No. 3 Marmaduke vs. No. 14 Trumann, No. 4 Rivercrest vs. No. 13 Osceola, No. 5 East Poinsett County vs. No. 12 Walnut Ridge, No. 6 Valley View vs. No. 11 Riverside, and No. 7 Westside vs. No. 10 Salem.
Top seed Rector will have a first-round bye in the girls’ Division I bracket. The Lady Cougars will meet the winner of the first-round game between No. 8 Maynard and No. 9 Cedar Ridge. Other first-round games include No. 2 Marked Tree vs. No. 15 Cross County, No. 3 Hillcrest vs. No. 14 Black Rock, No. 4 Weiner vs. No. 13 McCrory, No. 5 Bay vs. No. 12 Ridgefield Christian, No. 6 CRA vs. No. 11 Armorel, and No. 7 Sloan-Hendrix vs. No. 10 Augusta.
— Tony Manley of The Sun contributed to ths story.
The first game of the high school invitational tournament is scheduled for 10:30 Wednesday morning when Highland takes on Manila in a girls’ Division II game.
The Crowley’s Ridge Academy boys play McCrory in a Division II game at 3 p.m. Wednesday. On Thursday, Marmaduke faces conference rival Riverside at 6 p.m. in a Division II boys’ first-round contest. The Marmaduke girls begin NEA play Friday with a 10:30 a.m. game against Trumann.
The CRA girls along with the Rector boys and girls team see their first NEA action next week. The Lady Falcons play Armorel at 9 a.m. Monday.
Also Monday in Division II the top-seeded Lady Cougars of Rector play the Maynard-Cedar Ridge winner in a second-round game at noon. Rector’s boys take on Maynard at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
The tournament, which will run through Dec. 30, will have a different divisional format, a different playing schedule and at least one significant absence from its boys’ and girls’ fields.
ADVERTISEMENT |
And, for the first time since the tournament moved to the Convocation Center, all games will be played on the main floor. Early rounds of the girls’ tournament — now in its 35th year — have been played on the upper level of the Convocation Center for the past several years.
Another change for the NEA involves the tournament field. For the first time in recent memory, and perhaps since the tournament began, neither Jonesboro High School’s boys’ or girls’ team will be in the tournament.
Jonesboro won last year’s Class 4A-5A-6A boys’ championship, beating Westside in the title game. The Jonesboro girls lost to Nettleton in last year’s 4A-5A-6A final.
Westside, which is off to a 6-0 start this season, is the No. 1 seed in the Division II boys’ bracket. Defending Class 1A state champion Bay is the top seed in the Division I boys’ bracket. In the girls’ divisions, Nettleton is the top seed in Division II, while Rector is the No. 1 seed in Division I.
First-round Games in the 15-team boys’ Division II bracket include No. 2 East Poinsett County vs. No. 15 Tuckerman, No. 3 Valley View vs. No. 14 Salem, No. 4 Trumann vs. No. 13 Highland, No. 5 Marmaduke vs. No. 12 Riverside, No. 6 Osceola vs. No. 11 Walnut Ridge, and No. 7 Nettleton vs. No. 10 Rivercrest.
Bay will take on No. 16 seed Sloan-Hendrix in the 16-team boys’ Division 1 bracket. Other games include No. 2 Cedar Ridge vs. No. 15 Cross County, No. 3 Izard County Consolidated vs. No. 14 Armorel, No. 4 Augusta vs. No. 13 Black Rock, No. 5 Marked Tree vs. No. 12 Weiner, No. 6 Rector vs. No. 11 Maynard, No. 7 Hillcrest vs. No. 10 Ridgefield Christian, and No. 8 McCrory vs. No. 9 CRA.
In the girls’ Division II bracket, top seed Nettleton has a bye and will take on the winner of the first-round game between No. 8 Highland and No. 9 Manila in the quarterfinals. Other first-round games include No. 2 seed Buffalo Island Central vs. No. 15 Tuckerman, No. 3 Marmaduke vs. No. 14 Trumann, No. 4 Rivercrest vs. No. 13 Osceola, No. 5 East Poinsett County vs. No. 12 Walnut Ridge, No. 6 Valley View vs. No. 11 Riverside, and No. 7 Westside vs. No. 10 Salem.
Top seed Rector will have a first-round bye in the girls’ Division I bracket. The Lady Cougars will meet the winner of the first-round game between No. 8 Maynard and No. 9 Cedar Ridge. Other first-round games include No. 2 Marked Tree vs. No. 15 Cross County, No. 3 Hillcrest vs. No. 14 Black Rock, No. 4 Weiner vs. No. 13 McCrory, No. 5 Bay vs. No. 12 Ridgefield Christian, No. 6 CRA vs. No. 11 Armorel, and No. 7 Sloan-Hendrix vs. No. 10 Augusta.
— Tony Manley of The Sun contributed to ths story.
 |
||
| GCT Christmas Classic gets under way today |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of paragoulddailypress.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
Submit a Comment
Please note: We provide our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.