By Pat Culverhouse
A legendary high school basketball coach’s name will again be in the spotlight as 20 boys and girls teams kick off the annual Don Stahl Basketball Tournament scheduled to run Wednesday through Saturday at Lakeside Jr/Sr. High School.
Twelve girls’ teams and eight boys’ teams will be competing for the championship trophy with games scheduled for three sites: the Lakeside junior high school and high school gymnasiums plus Minden’s recreational center at 1001 Recreation Dr.
Games in the girls’ bracket kick off Wednesday at 3:45 in two locations with four boys’ teams getting into action Wednesday, also at two locations on the Lakeside campus.
In addition to host Lakeside, teams in the boys bracket include Minden, Magnolia Charter, North Webster, Camden (AR), Waco (TX) Gibsland-Coleman and Simsboro.
Lakeside opens play Wednesday at 6:30, taking on Magnolia Charter in the high school gym. Minden’s first game follows at 8 when the Tide meets Simsboro.
On the girls’ side, parish teams Lakeside, Minden and North Webster will be joined by Ringgold, Simsboro, North DeSoto, Haynesville, Gibsland-Coleman, Homer, Lincoln Prep, Arcadia and Camden-Fairview (AR).
Minden and North Webster draw Wednesday games in the tournament. The Lady Tide’s tackle Lincoln Prep at 3:45 in the Lakeside gym and North Webster Drews Simsboro in the junior high school gym. Lakeside begins play Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Lakeside gym, taking on Ringgold.
Games will conclude Saturday with consolation finals in both divisions scheduled for 12 noon and 1:30, followed by the girls’ championship at 3 p.m. and the boys’ title game at 4.
This year’s tournament will mark more than three decades of competition in Stahl’s honor. During his coaching career, he won 824 games including a 100-game winning streak while head coach at Sibley High School from 1978 through the 1980-81 seasons. The streak was the seventh-longest in the nation.
Included in that streak was a national record 56-0 slate in the 1979-80 state championship season. Under his leadership, Sibley won two state championships, numerous district titles and were a perennial playoff competitor.
