Jordan Stookey and the Warsaw Tigers will have its hands full Friday night as Triton will come calling to the Tiger Den. (File photo by Nick Goralczyk)

It’s technically still Christmas Break in the area, and the snow has finally made winter look a little more like winter. That being said, several “Holiday” tournaments are scheduled to take place this weekend as area sports start to heat up again this first weekend of January after a rather dormant end to December. Of course, as is any winter sport, weather is pending!

Basketball is the bellcow on the schedule, and there are some really good games on tap to consume. Friday’s schedule is highlighted by a pair of games that feature traditional powers matching up.

Up first is the red circle game on the calendar for the Triton boys basketball program, a road test at the Tiger Den with the Warsaw Tigers. The 1-A No. 7 Trojans are 4-2 overall and coming off a tough 56-54 Northern State Conference loss at New Prairie last Saturday night. Warsaw (6-2), on the other hand, returns home riding a five-game winning streak and one trophy heavier after beating Bloomington North and host Hamilton Heights at the Hamilton Heights Tourney last Friday. JV will start at 6 p.m., varsity to follow in a hotly contested series that had Triton win last year’s matchup by a bucket and Warsaw the previous two games.

The second heavyweight matchup Friday night will find Tippecanoe Valley and NorthWood locking horns in  a semifinal clash of the Winning Edge Holiday Tournament being played at Rochester. Valley, 4-1 and No. 17 in the 3-A state poll, has not played since Dec. 20 in a win at Whitko. NorthWood, 5-0 and No. 10 in the 3-A state poll, also has been idle since Dec. 20 when the Panthers escaped with a 56-55 win over visiting Plymouth. The Winning Edge  Tournament has Valley and NorthWood playing at 6 p.m. and Fairfield and Rochester duking it out at 7:30. The games then shift to NorthWood Saturday with the consolation at 6 p.m., championship to follow.

Friday also will have the Lakeland Christian Academy hosting its boys and girls basketball Lakeland Christian Classics. The two tournaments will weave within one another, with the girls opening play Friday at noon with Granger Christian and LCA taking the court in game one. Once the game ends, the LCA boys will face Clinton Christian in that tournament’s opening game. The girls and boys will flip flop games throughout the day Friday and Saturday. LCA’s boys will play South Bend Trinity at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Covenant Christian (DeMotte) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. LCA’s girls will take on South Bend Trinity at 6 p.m. Friday and Covenant Christian (DeMotte) at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Mallorie Jennings and the Triton Lady Trojans will face off with the Warsaw Lady Tigers at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center Saturday night. (Photo provided by Orion Lemler at Triton Trojan Athletics)

Saturday is also a big day locally, as the Winning Edge and LCA tournaments conclude. The Plymouth Shootout in girls basketball will also open and close its one-day format, with Wawasee facing Brebeuf in the morning and then taking on Norwell in the evening, with host Plymouth also facing the same two foes in opposite games. Wawasee is just 2-6 on the season, but went into the holiday on a high after knocking off Warsaw, 39-35, back on Dec. 21.

The Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on the campus of Grace College will be very busy Saturday as the home team Lancers and Lady Lancers will both be in action. The Grace women’s basketball team (6-9 overall) will host rival Bethel College (7-8) at 1 p.m. followed by the Grace (8-6) and Bethel (13-2) men’s basketball programs taking the stage. Once the college hoops are done, the floor will be given to the Triton and Warsaw girls basketball high school JV programs to square off at approximately 6 p.m., with the varsity contest between Triton and Warsaw to follow. Triton (7-3) is No. 12 in the 1-A poll and have not seen action since a Dec. 21 win against South Central (Union Mills). Warsaw enters the contest 4-7, with two of those wins and a title against Lowell and Perry Meridian in the TCU Lady Tiger Tournament this past Monday.

Wawasee’s boys basketball program (1-6) will host Columbia City Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and its gymnastics team will take part in the Blazer Invite hosted by Elkhart Central, also Saturday with a noon start.

Other notable games in the next week include the Northern Lakes Conference home/away matchups for Warsaw, at Northridge Friday night in boys hoops and home with Northridge Saturday night in girls hoops. Tippy Valley hosts two girls basketball games this week, with West Noble in town Tuesday and Northfield in Thursday. Valley is at Northfield Friday in boys buckets and host Plymouth in a big boys basketball game Saturday night.

Triton’s girls will have a major test on its hands Wednesday when it travels to Oregon-Davis for a girls basketball tussle.

Maybe the area swim meet of the year takes place Tuesday night when the Northern Lakes Conference title could be on the line as the Wawasee girls swim team hosts Northridge. Both teams are undefeated at 5-0 in the conference and a win would put the victor in prime position for at least a share of the conference hardware.