Murphysboro, Trico hoops tournaments combining

It's a new era in high school hoops, as the Trico Pioneer Invitational is combining with the Murphysboro Ernie Bozarth Memorial Tournament for a week-long post-Thanksgiving competition full of intriguing possibilities.
The new Trico-Murphysboro boys basketball tournament (an official name has not yet been decided) features 10 teams in two pools at two main sites, with the final round to be played in Murphysboro on Dec. 2 with the championship game at 8 p.m.
Next year's championship round will be hosted by Trico.
"We started talking about it last spring and finalized in the last month," said Trico High School Principal Mike Denault. "We had a couple of teams that had been talking with us about getting out and we were trying to get a situation that's a little more diverse."
The tournament will feature all four Randolph County public high schools in Sparta, Red Bud, Chester and Steeleville, but also includes Trico, Harrisburg, Roosevelt, North Tech, Lovejoy and the tournament co-host Red Devils.
"It's good to see different teams," said Steeleville coach Aaron Fiene. "We're going to play Harrisburg our first game of the season, so we're excited about that.
"We're going to play some teams we haven't played before. I think it will be a good thing."
Each site - Murphysboro and Trico - will host pool play and schools will take turns playing at the two sites. Two-time defending Pioneer Invitational champion Chester is in the Murphysboro Pool with the defending Ernie Bozarth Tournament champion Red Devils, North Tech, Roosevelt and Lovejoy.
"I really don't mind it," said Chester coach Brad Norman. "I don't mind the mixup, I think it will be good to see some other teams we wouldn't see throughout the year."
Sparta, Red Bud and Steeleville are in the Trico Pool with Harrisburg and the Pioneers.
"We thought combining our tournament with the teams we had with the teams from the Murphysboro tournament that we would encourage some other local teams that are travelling quite a bit," Denault said.
The action starts on Nov. 27 as Roosevelt will travel to North Tech for a 4 p.m. contest, while Steeleville and Harrisburg battle at 6 p.m. in Murphysboro.
At 7:30 p.m., Trico will play Red Bud in Trico, while Murphysboro will host Lovejoy.
The full schedule is as follows. Sites are in parentheses.
• Monday, Nov. 27
4:00 p.m. - Roosevelt at North Tech
6:00 p.m. - Steeleville vs. Harrisburg (Murphysboro)
7:30 p.m. - Trico vs. Red Bud (Trico)
7:30 p.m. - Murphysboro vs. Lovejoy (Murphysboro)
• Tuesday, Nov. 28
5:00 p.m. - North Tech vs. Chester (Trico)
6:30 p.m. - Trico vs. Harrisburg (Trico)
7:30 p.m. - Murphysboro vs. Roosevelt (Murphysboro)
8:00 p.m. - Steeleville vs. Sparta (Trico)
• Wednesday, Nov. 29
6:00 p.m. - Harrisburg vs. Red Bud (Murphysboro)
7:30 p.m. - Murphysboro vs. Chester (Murphysboro)
7:30 p.m. - Trico vs. Sparta (Trico)
TBA - Roosevelt vs. Lovejoy in St. Louis
• Thursday, Nov. 30
5:00 p.m. - Red Bud vs. Sparta (Trico)
6:30 p.m. - Roosevelt vs. Chester (Trico)
8:00 p.m. - Trico vs. Steeleville (Trico)
• Friday, Dec. 1
6:00 p.m. - Harrisburg vs. Sparta (Murphysboro)
6:00 p.m. - Chester vs. Lovejoy (Trico)
7:30 p.m. - Murphysboro vs. North Tech (Murphysboro)
7:30 p.m. - Red Bud vs. Steeleville (Trico)
• Saturday, Dec. 2
(All at Murphysboro)
11:00 a.m. - North Tech vs. Lovejoy
2:00 p.m. - 9th place game
3:30 p.m. - 7th place game
5:00 p.m. - 5th place game
6:30 p.m. - 3rd place game
8:00 p.m. - Championship