By STEVE KRAUSE
End-of-season high school tournaments in basketball and hockey will dot the horizon beginning Sunday.
These games serve as a precursor to the official MIAA state tournaments, whose pairings will be announced Friday, Feb. 24 for basketball and Saturday, Feb. 25 for hockey.
The tournaments serve several purposes. Teams look to them as ways to prepare them for the state tournaments. And very often, participating teams need them to win games that will make them eligible for state tournament play.
In basketball, the Larry McIntire International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) Board 130 Classic will be held Sunday and Monday at Beverly High School’s Henry Cabot Lodge Field House.
The tournament is named for the former Big East referee and longtime assigner for several high school leagues and the MIAA North sectional tournament. It returns to the North Shore after being played at North Andover last year. It has also been held at Central Catholic High School and St. John’s Prep.
“We’re very excited to have the tournament in Beverly,” said Board 130 president Peter Dion. “With seven North Shore teams and a first-class venue, we are hoping for big crowds both days.”
The tournament includes both the Bishop Fenwick boys and girls as well as St. John’s Prep.
Also participating are Masconomet and Beverly, which is close to the lineup of the former North Shore Invitational Tournament, for which McIntire served as co-chair, along with Mike O’Brien, who broadcasts area sports on North Shore 104.9.
One boys player and one girls player will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Since starting the tournament in 2011, the board has awarded $24,000 in scholarships. All seniors playing in the tournament were invited to apply for the scholarships.
“We want to be able to help student-athletes while showcasing some great talent,” said Scholarship Committee chairman Dave Margossian.
IAABO Board 130 has more than 400 members who officiate basketball games from the youth to collegiate levels.
St. Mary’s will hold its 12th Spartan Classic, Sunday and Monday for girls; and Feb. 22-23 for boys. Both tournaments are at the Conigliaro Gym at St. Mary’s.
The St. Mary’s girls will vie for their seventh overall Division 3 championship and fifth in a row.
Other teams participating are: Arlington Catholic, Groton-Dunstable, Belmont, Pentucket, Newton North, Bayview Academy, Arlington, Billerica, Latin Academy, Rockland and Coyle-Cassidy.
For the boys, it’ll be St. Clement, Salem, Greater Lawrence and St. Mary’s.
The 22nd annual Newburyport Bank Ice Hockey Classic will be held from Monday through next Friday at the Henry Graf Skating Rink. Teams participating include Lynn and Danvers for the boys and Marblehead and Lynn/Winthrop for the girls.
For dates and times for individual games, please consult the accompanying schedules.