Gwinnett Daily Post

The field for this December's Deep South Classic basketball tournament was released on Friday with 10 local boys and girls teams in the mix.

Co-hosts Brookwood and South Gwinnett will bring boys and girls squads to the Dec. 27 to 30 event, which holds its finals at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Peachtree Ridge also will bring both of its teams to the tournament.

The Greater Atlanta Christian girls, the Hebron Christian girls and the Wesleyan girls, the 2004 Deep South champions, also are in the field along with the Buford boys.

The boys bracket features seven out-of-state teams, the most notable being the East Anchorage, Alaska boys, and the girls side includes four out-of-state schools.

"We'll be hosting teams from seven states including a boys team from East Anchorage, which will set the record for the team having traveled the farthest," Deep South tournament director Les Witmer said. "We'll also have our first team ever from Maryland as Bishop McNamara, coming from the highly competitive high school Maryland and Washington, D.C. area, has been selected."

As in past seasons, the first three days of the Deep South are at Brookwood and South with the final day the Arena. The tourney has added fifth-place consolation games to the schedule this year so two additional games will be held Dec. 30 at the Arena along with the championship and third-place matchups.

- From staff reports

What: Deep South Classic

When: Dec. 27-30

Where: Dec. 27-29 at Brookwood and South Gwinnett; Dec. 30 at Arena at Gwinnett Center

Web site: www.deepsouthclassic.com

Boys teams

Banneker

Bishop McNamara, Md.

Brookwood

Buford

Centennial

Chattahoochee

East Anchorage, Alaska

Douglass

Landmark Christian

Northridge, Ala.

Peachtree Ridge

Shelbyville Central, Tenn.

South Gwinnett

Spartanburg, S.C.

Spruce Creek, Fla.

Stonewall Jackson, Va.

Girls teams

Avondale

Briarcrest Christian, Tenn.

Brookwood

GAC

Hebron

Northwest Whitfield

Pace Academy

Peachtree Ridge

Sequoyah

South Gwinnett

Spartanburg, S.C.

Spruce Creek, Fla.

Stonewall Jackson, Va.

Walton

Wesleyan

Westminster