The 22nd annual Arvest Bank High School Basketball Tournament will begin Saturday at Flippin High School. The event brings together boys’ and girls’ teams from across the region, including multiple local standouts.
This year’s tournament features host teams from Flippin, as well as squads representing Calico Rock, Yellville-Summit, Cotter, Dover, Timbo, Alpena, Lead Hill, Omaha, and Jasper. New additions to the roster include the Salem girls, Kingston boys, and Melbourne girls basketball teams. Both the Jasper boys and girls teams are returning champions after sweeping last year’s tournament.
The tournament schedule kicks off Saturday morning, starting with the Calico Rock Lady Pirates facing the Yellville-Summit Lady Panthers at 10:00 a.m. in Flippin’s old gym. Simultaneously, the Flippin Bobcats will play the Timbo Tigers in the new gym.
At 11:30 a.m., the Flippin Lady Bobcats play the Omaha Lady Eagles in the old gym, while the Calico Rock Pirates square off against the Kingston Yellowjackets in the new gym. Games continue throughout the day, including matchups such as the Dover Lady Pirates against the Lead Hill Lady Tigers and the Dover Pirates taking on the Cotter Warriors, both starting at 1:00 p.m. The first day of competition concludes at 2:30 p.m. with two simultaneous games: the Alpena Lady Leopards against the Timbo Lady Tigers in the old gym, and the Yellville-Summit Panthers against the Alpena Leopards in the new gym.
The tournament continues Monday, with girls’ games in the new gym and boys’ games in the old gym. Highlights include the Salem Lady Greyhounds playing the winner of Saturday’s Calico Rock/Yellville-Summit game at 4:00 p.m., followed by the Jasper Lady Pirates competing against the winner of Flippin/Omaha at 5:30 p.m. The Cotter Lady Warriors will then play the winner of Dover/Lead Hill at 7:00 p.m., and the Melbourne Lady Bearkatz face the winner of Alpena/Timbo at 8:30 p.m.
On the boys’ side, Monday begins with the Omaha Eagles playing the winner of Calico Rock/Kingston at 4:00 p.m., followed by the Jasper Pirates taking on the Dover/Cotter winner at 5:30 p.m., and the Lead Hill Tigers squaring off against the Yellville-Summit/Alpena winner at 7:00 p.m.
Consolation bracket play begins on Wednesday, Nov. 18, with semifinal games for both boys’ and girls’ brackets scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 19. The tournament will wrap up on Saturday, Nov. 21, with championship and consolation finals.
The community is encouraged to attend and support the region’s young athletes as they compete in this annual showcase of local basketball talent.