BUTLER COUNTY — Two holiday high school basketball events are taking place this week in Butler County.
The Brian Cook Classic tips off Thursday and Friday at Madison, while the inaugural Butler County Backyard Bash runs Friday and Saturday at Fairfield Arena.
The 28th annual Brian Cook Classic — which was once the Madison Classic before being renamed to remember Cook who passed away in 2000 at the age of 16 — will hit the Mohawks’ Coach Smith Court when Madison, Cincinnati Christian and Belmont battle it out. The tournament had a scheduling conflict and will finish up in February at CCS.
Fairfield, Hamilton and Badin will be bringing both boys and girls programs to the Butler County Backyard Bash. Middletown, Monroe and Talawanda will have their girls teams participate, while Mount Healthy, Ross and Lakota West boys will compete.
“This will be a great event for our community,” Fairfield boys basketball coach DJ Wyrick said. “It is a great opportunity for fans to see the quality of basketball that we have here in Butler County. There are some great matchups this year.”
Indians athletic director Aaron Blankenship said he hopes the Backyard Bash will be an ongoing event that runs for years to come.
“We’re really excited about this year’s event,” Blankenship said. “We’re wanting this to be the first of many. We’ve already had quite a few teams reach out about participating in next year’s event if we’re able to have it.
“Our hope is that we have a fun holiday event that showcases the great talent and the great coaches and the great communities we have here in Butler County. We’re excited to see the event as it grows. This is going to be a great first year.”
Blankenship said the Backyard Bash also serves as an option for area basketball programs that didn’t head south for a holiday event to participate.
“This is a great opportunity to play in a local rivalry game in front of a great crowd in their own backyard,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for family, friends and students to come out to watch two really good nights of basketball.
“We felt like we could provide something great in a great facility like Fairfield Arena for a great community that Butler County is. This will create a tournament style environment for our student-athletes to participate in. While some of these trips are great, we felt like it’s a great opportunity for our programs to stay home.”
Fairfield’s boys basketball team also plays in the LaRosa’s Holiday Hardwood Classic on Thursday, Dec. 26 at Xavier University’s Cintas Center. The Indians face Lakota West with a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
The Brian Cook Classic schedule is as followed:
Boys
Thursday, Dec. 28, at Madison
6 p.m. — Cincinnati Christian vs. Belmont, JV
7:15 p.m. — Cincinnati Christian vs. Belmont, varsity
Friday, Dec. 29, at Madison
6 p.m. — Belmont vs. Madison, JV
7:15 p.m. — Belmont vs. Madison, varsity
Tuesday, Feb. 13, at Cincinnati Christian
6 p.m. — Madison vs. Cincinnati Christian, JV
7:15 p.m. — Madison vs. Cincinnati Christian, varsity
The Butler County Backyard Bash schedule is as followed:
Girls
Friday, Dec. 29, at Fairfield Arena
4:30 p.m. — Middletown vs. Monroe
6 p.m. — Hamilton vs. Talawanda
7:30 p.m. — Badin vs. Fairfield
Boys
Saturday, Dec. 30, at Fairfield Arena
4:30 p.m. — Mount Healthy vs. Lakota West
6 p.m. — Badin vs. Hamilton
7:30 p.m. — Ross vs. Fairfield
