Three Suffolk schools along with Smithfield High School will be a part of the King’s Fork High School Holiday Tournament.

Basketball season is currently in holiday mode, but there will be no shortage of competitive boys’ basketball Friday and Saturday night when King’s Fork, Nansemond River, Lakeland and Smithfield headline the Bulldogs-hosted Holiday Tournament.

The tournament will be packed with intense basketball. What makes it even more enticing this season is that each team has gotten off to a very good start this season. Smithfield comes in as the lone undefeated team at 7-0. King’s Fork and Lakeland both sit at 6-1. Nansemond River is 3-4, with three of its losses coming against some of the top teams in Hampton Roads. The Warriors are still off to their best start in the past few seasons.

“I applaud all the coaches wanting to be in this tournament,” Bulldogs coach Rick Hite said. “It’s great for Suffolk, and it’s great for high school basketball. A lot of times when teams are familiar with each other, you can throw records out the window. I feel like all these teams are doing well right now because of the coaches and the talent level they have at these schools.”

“I think it’s a great opportunity to showcase the talent each school has,” Lakeland Coach Clint Wright said. “I think the city of Suffolk deserves this type of basketball atmosphere, especially with how well all the teams have been playing. This is an opportunity to be on display and something we won’t be taking for granted.”

The players and coaches know there has been talk about who is the best team in the area right now among the four schools. That will provide a higher level of energy among the players, with each game a rivalry.

“Everybody is going to be going hard at each other,” Hite said. “We want to see what we are made of. I believe in my guys, and I’m sure Clint, Ed and Theotis would all say the same about their guys as well.”

Nansemond River and Smithfield will tip things off at 6 p.m. Friday night, with King’s Fork and Lakeland following that game up at 7:30 p.m. The losers will play in the consolation game on Saturday at 6 p.m., while the championship game will follow at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10.