All Blair, Arlington and Fort Calhoun High School basketball teams will return to competition and participate in holiday tournaments Thursday and Friday.
The Bears and Pioneers will play host, while Arlington will contend for a tourney title at Lincoln Lutheran.
Blair Bears host 4 schools
The BHS boys will host Elkhorn Mount Michael, Aurora and Omaha Gross for their holiday bracket, which begins play 12:30 p.m. Thursday. The fourth-seeded Bears (5-3 overall) play No. 1 Elkhorn Mount Michael (5-1), while Aurora (4-3) faces Omaha Gross (3-3) in the Nos. 2-3 matchup.
The first-round winners will play each other 12:30 p.m. Friday in the title game, while the losers will contend for third at the same time inside the BHS Auxiliary gym.
The Blair girls, meanwhile, will open their home tournament with a rematch. The top-seeded Bears (7-1) previously beat the Gross Cougars (0-6) 40-25 on Dec. 17, but face them again 11 a.m. Thursday.
On the opposite side of the four-team bracket, second-seeded Aurora (1-6) battles Omaha Duchesne (2-2) at the same time. Both Friday games start at 11 a.m., too.
Notably, the Aurora boys were the only tourney team ranked in the preseason ratings released by the Omaha World-Herald. The Huskies are No. 4 in Class C1.
FCHS play starts Thursday afternoon
The Fort Calhoun Holiday Tournament will bring Centura, Howells-Dodge and Sandy Creek to Washington County on Thursday and Friday.
The Pioneers open with a 2 p.m. Thursday doubleheader. The FCHS girls (3-5 overall) start play against unbeaten Centura (8-0) at 2 before the home boys (4-3) face the Centurions (2-5) at approximately 4 p.m.
Sandy Creek and Howells-Dodge face each other in girls and boys matchups at 2 and 4 p.m. Thursday as well. The Class D1 Cougar girls and boys are both 2-6 this season. The Howells-Dodge Jaguars, meanwhile, are 5-3 on both the girls' and boys' side, too.
The girls basketball championship and consolation games are set for 10 a.m. starts Friday before boys action at noon.
Eagles travel to Lincoln for 4
The Arlington High School basketball programs will play four combined games at Lincoln Lutheran on Thursday on Friday.
The Eagle girls (3-2 overall) start competition 1 p.m. Thursday against Holdrege (2-5), while the AHS boys (2-4) play the Dusters (4-3) at 2:30.
The host Crusaders play Fairbury teams on the opposite side of the bracket. The preseason No. 4 Lincoln Lutheran girls are just 1-5 this season, while the boys are 5-2.
The Jeffs, meanwhile, are 1-6 on the girls' side and 5-2 on the boys' side.
The girls' holiday tourney championship game is 1 p.m. Friday before the 2:30 p.m. boys championship. The girls' consolation game, meanwhile, is 10 a.m. Friday followed by the boys' at 11:30.
