By Jay Neal
sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com
The Curtis Carroll Fieldhouse, on the campus of Jacksonville College, will be an oasis for those tired of watching college football games and a place where folks wishing to ring in the new year with some roundball action will have an opportunity to do just that.
The inaugural Jacksonville Daily Progress-Jacksonville College New Year’s Classic will take place on Jan. 1-2, 2010, with four women’s games and a men’s contest scheduled to take place.
Action gets under way Friday, Jan. 1 at 5:30 p.m. when the women’s teams from Panola College (2-3) and Weatherford College (4-3) take to the court.
Head coach Lynn Nabi’s Lady Jaguars (3-5) will then tangle with Northeastern Oklahoma State (2-4) at 7:30 p.m.
Three games are on the docket for Saturday, beginning with a matchup between Panola and NEO at 2 p.m.
Women’s play will conclude with a 4 p.m. game between JC and the Lady Coyotes of WC.
At 6 p.m., the JC men (4-4) will entertain Southwest Christian College (8-1). The Rams are out of Terrell, Texas, and compete in NJCAA Region V.
Nabi says JC is looking forward to hosting the event and are optimistic that the event will expand farther next year.
“The New Year’s Classic will give our fans and people in the community a chance to come out and see some really good basketball games during a time of year that is generally pretty slow,” Nabi said. “Northeastern Oklahoma and Weatherford are always tough teams and they both will give us a big challenge.
“We also are excited about the (JC) men’s game, too, on Jan. 2. Fans will be able to come out that day and buy one ticket and see three quality basketball games.”
Nabi added that JC is looking into expanding the tournament to include a total of four men’s teams as well next year with the possibility also of moving the event to earlier in the season.
