The Snowball Classic basketball tournament returns next week, and a familiar foe is returning to headline the event.
The Mount Vernon Knights return to Abbotsford Senior Secondary for the 59th annual event, and look to regain the title they captured in 2016.
The Knights defeated the Kelowna Owls 104-87 in the 2016 final, and the program went on to capture a New York state championship in 2017. Mount Vernon sports a regular season record of 5-3 so far this season.
Mount Vernon tips off in the 2019 edition of the tournament on Jan. 17 at 8:15 p.m. against the winner of the Centennial Centaurs and Yale Lions game earlier that day.
The event opens on Jan. 16, with the host Abbotsford Panthers taking on the MEI Eagles at 12:30 p.m.
Other local teams competing include: the W.J. Mouat Hawks and the Robert Bateman Timberwolves. Mouat opens against Charles Tupper on Jan. 17 at 10:45 a.m., while the Timberwolves takes on Belmont on Jan. 17 at 9 a.m.
Besides the Knights, the other teams receiving first round byes include: Kelowna, last year’s runners-up the Walnut Grove Gators and Burnaby South.
The 2019 Snowball Classic final is scheduled to tip off on Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. All games occur inside the Abbotsford Senior Secondary gym. For more information on the event, visit facebook.com/snowballtournament.