Homeschool hoops tourney hosted by LU bringing 60 teams

They may be educated at home, but the 60 teams from as far away as Iowa that will flood Liberty University this week for the 14th annual East Coast Homeschool Basketball Championships hope to do some schooling of their own — of their opponents.

It’s the fourth year LU has hosted the event over its spring break after tournament director Chris Davis started it and ran it for 10 years in Fredericksburg.

This week’s tournament — which tips off with middle school games at 5 p.m. today, when the Lynchburg Patriots play the Fairfax Kings on Liberty Christian Academy’s main court, and concludes Saturday night, with the championship game of the high school boys 7A bracket set for 7:30 p.m. at LU’s Vines Center — will feature 150 games on nine courts.

“It’s the most we’ve had so far,” Davis said of the 60 teams competing.

Referees from the Colonial Basketball Association will officiate the games, and members of LCA’s football team will work the scoreboard and keep the clock for many of them.

Most of the action will take place on the five courts at the LaHaye Student Center, though LCA will host the girls 3-point shooting contest tonight at 9 and the Vines Center will host Friday’s boys 3-point shootout at 9 a.m. and slam dunk contest at 10 a.m., prior to the girls’ 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A divisional championship games at 1, 3, 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., respectively.

All seven boys championship games (for 1A through 7A) will be played at the Vines Center on Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The 28 boys varsity teams are grouped into seven four-team pools, with the 16 girls varsity teams in four four-team pools, 12 boys JV teams in three four-team pools and four middle school teams in a pool of their own with the final set for 4 p.m. on Thursday at the LaHaye Center.

Once play pool play is complete, all the teams will be reseeded to allow them to have their own Final Fours based on their ability levels.

Having it played simultaneously with the start of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments adds to the excitement of the event, especially with LU’s women’s team qualifying for the field.

“They’ll have practice sessions here, so we’ll make sure we’re not in their way,” Davis said.

The Tennessee Heat (27-8), out of Lebanon, Tenn., FFAI Defenders (25-5) from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and the CVHAA Patriots (17-8) out of Richmond, are a few of the favorites in the boys varsity tournament. The Lynchburg Patriots also have a boys varsity team, but they went 4-11 in regular-season play.

Davis said each pool is divided up by geography to assure that “nobody’s played each other before. It builds the suspense of not knowing who you’re playing. It’s a big mystery.”

Many of the teams will have opportunities to scout one another throughout the tournament.

This year’s field features 10 to 12 new teams, including one from New Jersey, one from Pennsylvania and a few new ones from North Carolina. Teams from Texas, which is where LU’s Jesse Sanders and Rachel McLeod played their homeschool careers, who have participated in the past won’t be back this year.

It is an invitational, with no qualifiers, but some requirements.

“About all of them play in a conference and a lot of them have tournament experience,” Davis said, noting some play private schools and others, such as those in North Carolina, play some public schools. “They have to fill out their roster online and send in a copy of one of their game books to show that this is the team they started with,” with no add-ons or last-minute adjustments.

“We locked teams in in December,” Davis added. “I’m anxious for it to start.”

Davis said all of the area’s hotels are booked up for the week. The Sundae Grill is serving as the event’s concessionaire. He said LU’s staff, Ernest Carter, in particular, has been helpful in setting the tournament up.

Visit the tournament Web site www.eastcoasttournament.com or www.hspn.net for more information.