Asheboro’s Malaika Khan takes a shot against Uwharrie Charter Academy earlier this season. This week, there will be holiday tournament play in Asheboro’s gym. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Holiday high school basketball action returns to Asheboro after a three-year gap with this week’s 16-team event at Asheboro High School.
The tournament includes a girls’ bracket and a boys’ bracket, with five schools from Randolph County in the field.
It’s called the SportsTone.net Christmas Invitational.
Games will be held Wednesday through Friday.
Along with host Asheboro, the schools entered are Providence Grove, Randleman, Southwestern Randolph, Trinity, Eastern Guilford, North Carolina Leadership Academy and West Brunswick.
Holiday tournaments were scrapped in 2020 because of the pandemic and the delayed season that was held exclusively in 2021. The past two years, Asheboro’s gym was unavailable because of renovations at the high school.
So in late December in 2021 and 2022, most Randolph County teams were involved in the Davidson-Randolph Christmas Classic. Those games were held with daylong action at Providence Grove and Ledford using separate brackets.
Eastern Guilford, a Class 3-A school, is sending its teams to Asheboro for the Wildcats’ first holiday tournament action away from home in more than a decade. A longstanding boys’ and girls’ tournament at Eastern Guilford has been discontinued this year, making the Wildcats available.
North Carolina Leadership Academy is based in Kernersville.
The opening-night matchups pitting Providence Grove vs. Asheboro will be the third meetings of the season between those teams.
Asheboro boys won earlier clashes by 53-39 and 63-32, while the girls split two meetings — Providence Grove won 71-68 in overtime at home before Asheboro claimed the rematch 52-44 at home.
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At Asheboro
Girls
Dec. 27
Eastern Guilford vs. Randleman, 10 a.m.
Trinity vs. West Brunswick, 1 p.m.
North Carolina Leadership Academy vs. Southwestern Randolph, 4 p.m.
Providence Grove vs. Asheboro, 7 p.m.
Dec. 28
Consolation games: 10 a.m., 1 p.m.
Semifinals: 4 p.m., 7 p.m.
Dec. 29
10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m.
Boys
Dec. 27
Eastern Guilford vs. Randleman, 11:30 a.m.
Trinity vs. West Brunswick, 2:30 p.m.
North Carolina Leadership Academy vs. Southwestern Randolph, 5:50 p.m.
Providence Grove vs. Asheboro, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 28
Consolation games: 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m.
Semifinals: 5:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 29
11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m.
