Prep Championship leads off busy slate of holiday tourneys

The annual Las Vegas Prep Championship boys basketball tournament begins today, tipping off a week of holiday tournaments.

Down from a 32-team field last year to 20 this year, the Prep Championship will be played at Las Vegas High. The field includes nine local teams: Liberty, Legacy, Centennial, Valley, Palo Verde, Bonanza, Las Vegas, Eldorado and Arbor View.

Play begins at 4 p.m. today. Games start at 10:20 a.m. Thursday and Friday, and noon Saturday. The championship game is at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Also beginning today is the Vegas Invitational at Mountain View. The tournament features a 10-team boys field and an eight-team girls field.

Play begins at 10:30 a.m. today, and both the boys and girls tournaments run through Saturday.

Three more basketball tournaments tip off Thursday.

The Vegas Valley Invitational boys tournament at Durango features 16 teams, including 10 local schools.

Play begins at 3 p.m. Thursday, and Saturday's championship game is set for 4 p.m.

In girls basketball, Centennial hosts the Las Vegas Holiday Classic Thursday through Saturday. The 20-team event has 11 local schools.

Saturday's championship game is set for 3:30 p.m.

Basic also hosts a three-day girls tournament beginning on Thursday. The tournament has two eight-team divisions, and 14 of 16 teams are from the area.

The Silver Division championship game is at noon Saturday, with the Gold championship to follow at 1:30 p.m.