Royal 8 schedule
What: Royal 8 Hardwood Classic boys basketball tournament
Where: Fairfield High School, 8800 Holden Blvd., Fairfield; Elder High School, 3900 Vincent Ave., Cincinnati
Dec. 20: Game 1 — Turpin 59, Anderson 37 at Turpin
Friday: Game 2 — Lakota West vs. Withrow at Fairfield, 6:30 p.m.; Game 3 — St. Xavier at Elder, 7:30 p.m.; Game 4 — Covington (Ky.) Catholic at Fairfield, 8 p.m.
Saturday (all games at Fairfield): Game 5 — Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 3 p.m.; Game 6 — Game 4 loser vs. Anderson, 4:30 p.m.; Game 7 — Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.; Game 8 — Turpin vs. Game 4 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Monday (all games at Fairfield): Game 9 — seventh place, Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 3 p.m.; Game 10 — fifth place, Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30 p.m.; Game 11 — third place, Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 6 p.m.; Game 12 — championship, Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7:30 p.m.
The Royal 8 Hardwood Classic is back at Fairfield High School this year.
The eight-team boys basketball tournament representing four area leagues and northern Kentucky will kick into high gear Friday, highlighted by unbeaten Covington (Ky.) Catholic vs. Fairfield.
“They’re just like a (Greater Catholic League) school,” Indians coach Tim Austing said of the 13-0 Colonels. “They shoot it exceptionally well. They’ve got a bunch of experienced guards that are really good passers, handlers and shooters.
“They’re one of the top teams in the tri-state, but that’s what we wanted. We’re trying to play the best teams we can find that will make us better.”
Defending champion Lakota West (7-3) and Fairfield (8-3) will represent the Greater Miami Conference. West will play Withrow (5-4) in Friday’s first game at FHS at 6:30 p.m., with the Indians vs. CovCath following at 8.
Also Friday, St. Xavier (6-5) travels to Elder (9-2) for a GCL South Division contest. Turpin (5-6) beat visiting Anderson (4-8) 59-37 on Dec. 20.
All games Saturday and Monday will be at Fairfield Arena. CovCath is the only newcomer to the Classic, replacing Madeira.
“It’s going to be a good thing,” Austing said. “I like the idea of having a tournament feel.
“No. 1, it’s good practice for the tournament. The second thing, I like playing a bunch of games in one weekend because later on you get a Tuesday off like we’re having this week where you get to rest up. We’re pretty banged up right now, so a few days off is really big for us.”
Herman Brunis, Tim Fleming and Justin Johnson are among the Indians who have been battling injuries, though Austing expects everybody to play Friday.
“It’s that time of year,” Austing said. “If you’re not banged up, you’re probably not playing very hard.”
Fairfield has been a mixed bag this season. The Tribe had a four-game winning streak snapped last Friday at Oak Hills, where the Highlanders hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to grab their only lead of the night.
“We didn’t really play as terrible as it looked,” Austing said. “We were a little banged up, we had some foul-trouble issues, and we couldn’t put away a nice lead that we were building. And Oak Hills is 7-4. They’re a good team.
“We’re struggling in situations. If we were a football team, where we would be bad right now would be special teams. Free throws, end of quarters, under OBs, all those little detail-oriented things. That’s coaching. I’ve just got to get the guys ready.”
West defeated Withrow, from the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference, 69-56 in the inaugural Classic championship game last year.
The Firebirds are riding a two-game losing streak, having lost to Middletown and Lakota East in the past week.
Since Turpin and Anderson began Classic play last month, they’ll have Eastern Cincinnati Conference games (against Glen Este and Milford, respectively) Friday and come to Fairfield on Saturday.
About the Author