Prep basketball: Peterich Tip-Off, Cardinal Newman Classic tournaments set for this weekend

A pair of Sonoma County teams will be hosting high-caliber fields to usher in high school basketball tournament season this weekend.

Montgomery will host the 22nd annual Russ Peterich Viking Tip-Off Classic from Thursday to Saturday on the boys side, while the Cardinal Newman Classic will be running the same days and feature some of the top girls teams in Northern California.

Here’s a bit more on each tournament.

Peterich Viking Tip-Off

The Vikings (2-0) finished third in the tournament last year and are one of two Sonoma County teams in the field, along with Analy.

The field also includes Branson, Las Lomas, Skyline, Washington-Fremont, Hercules and North of Bakersfield. Branson, the defending North Coast Section Division 3 champions and CIF state Division 2 regional finalist, headlines the group. The Bulls have several Division I college prospects on their roster.

Montgomery beat the Bulls on a buzzer-beater in last year’s third-place game. St. Ignatius and Monte Vista, the reigning champion and runner-up, respectively, are not in the field this year.

Montgomery should once again be in the hunt to win this tournament. The Vikings made it to the NCS Division 2 semifinals last year and are off to a 2-0 start this season.

Full schedule

Thursday, Dec. 1

Game 1: Las Lomas vs. North-Bakersfield, 4 p.m.

Game 2: Analy vs. Branson, 5:30 p.m.

Game 3: Skyline vs. Washington-Fremont, 7 p.m.

Game 4: Montgomery vs. Hercules, 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 2

Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 4 p.m.

Losers of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 5:30 p.m.

Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2. 7 p.m.

Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 3

7th-place game, 11 a.m.

Consolation game, 12:30 p.m.

3rd-place game, 2 p.m.

Championship, 3:30 p.m.

Cardinal Newman Classic

Along with the Cardinals, who made the NCS Open Division and CIF state Division 1 playoffs last year, the round-robin field will include other elite programs like Branson, St. Mary’s-Stockton and Archbishop Mitty.

Branson won the NCS Division 5 and CIF state Division 4 title last year. St. Mary’s made it to the semifinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 playoffs and the CIF state Division 1 regional semifinals, eliminating Cardinal Newman from postseason contention in the state playoffs.

Archbishop Mitty is one of the top programs in the state. The Monarchs won the Central Coast Section Open Division title last year and were the CIF state Open Division runners-up.

Full schedule

Thursday, Dec. 1

Cardinal Newman vs. Redwood, 6 p.m.

Branson vs. Archbishop Mitty, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 2

Redwood vs. Summit-Sunnyvale, 4:30 p.m.

Cardinal Newman vs. Branson, 6 p.m.

Archbishop Mitty vs. St. Mary’s-Stockton, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 3

St. Mary’s-Stockton vs. Redwood, 2 p.m.

Cardinal Newman vs. Archbishop Mitty, 3:30 p.m.

Summit-Sunnyvale vs. Vallejo, 5 p.m.

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD.