Huntington High School will host the 2001 MPSA District 5-1A Junior Varsity Basketball Tournament Saturday at the Huntington High Gym.

All six schools in District 5-1A – Trinity Episcopal, Huntington, Pine Hills Academy, Amite School Center, Chamberlain-Hunt Academy and Ben’s Ford – will compete in the boys and girls divisions.

The top two seeds in the boys and girls brackets have first-round byes and will have to win only two games to win the district tournament title.

In the boys bracket, Trinity, which went 11-1 overall and 10-0 in district play, is the No. 1 seed.

&uot;It will be tough to win three games, so I’m glad we got the bye,&uot; said Trinity JV boys head coach Billy Ellzey.

One player who has been instrumental in helping Trinity to the No. 1 seed is Dudley Guice, who averaged 23 points and 20 rebounds a game during the regular season.

&uot;He’s a talented young player,&uot; Ellzey said. &uot;He’s done good overall and tries to get the team involved.

&uot;His work habit started off slow, but as the season went on it got better,&uot; Ellzey said.

But Guice has been aided by the consistent play of Wyatt Craig and Preston Sullivan, Ellzey said.

&uot;Wyatt Craig’s really come along as the season went on,&uot; Ellzey said. &uot;Preston Sullivan’s really stepped up his game.&uot;

Ellzey said the teams to watch in the boys bracket are Ben’s Ford and Huntington.

Huntington is the No. 4 seed in the boys bracket and a win over number five seed Pine Hills will mean a showdown between Trinity and Huntington in the semifinals.

Huntington and Pine Hills play at 10:15 a.m., with the Trinity versus the HHS/Pine Hills winner at 3:15 p.m.

&uot;Ben’s Ford played us extremely close both times,&uot; he said. &uot;Huntington played us close over there. So them playing on their court may be an advantage for them.&uot;

Also, Ben’s Ford, the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 seed ASC at 12:45 p.m., with the winner to face CHA at 5:45 p.m.

In the girls bracket, Huntington, which went 12-4 overall and 10-0 in district during the regular season, is the No. 1 seed.

&uot;At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think we would be the No. 1 seed,&uot; said Huntington JV girls head coach Penny Moak.

&uot;But as the season went on, they started playing better and were playing together,&uot; she said. &uot;Then I figured we may be the No. 1 seed.&uot;

Moak said the teams to watch in the girls bracket are No. 2 seed Ben’s Ford and No. 3 seed Trinity, which may play each other in the semifinals if Trinity defeats No. 6 seed Pine Hills.

Trinity and Pine Hills play at 11:30 a.m., with the Ben’s Ford versus Trinity/Pine Hills winner at 4:30 p.m.

&uot;Ben’s Ford has a good team and Trinity has a pretty good team, so we can’t take them lightly,&uot; she said.

&uot;When we played Ben’s Ford at Ben’s Ford, they played us close,&uot; she said. &uot;Other than our four losses, that’s been our closest game.&uot;

The first game of the JV district tournament is at 9 a.m. with a first-round girls game between ASC and CHA, with the winner to face Huntington at 2 p.m.

The girls finals will be at 7 p.m. and the boys finals will be at 8:15 p.m.