LAKEVILLE - Snow, frigid January weather and the third week of January means more than just winter for many in northern Indiana. The won-loss records might not always be glossy, but the competition is fierce in the battle for the prestigious trophy. It's time for the 60th annual Everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament. In this preview, we take a look at dates, times, pairings, tickets, and items of interest for the 2025 Everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament. LaVille Athletic Director Will Hostrawser shared some tournament information and how much LaVille looks forward to this yearly event, along with the partnership with Everwise. "The Everwise Bi-County week is always a special week," said Hostrawser. "The historic tournament brings a lot of communities together here at LaVille and it is an honor to host them. Administratively speaking, there are a lot of moving parts - a lot of details to tend to. The weather also tends to make its presence known as well. Regardless, it is always a pleasure to be a part of it all. "Honestly, there is nothing else quite like the Everwise Bi-County Tournament - it always brings together 8 communities the third week of January each year to see who rises to the top. Everwise has always been extremely supportive of the tournament and all its participants. Over the years, in addition to supporting the tournament financially, Everwise has awarded a tremendous amount of scholarship money for the student athlete recipients of the prestigious WB Hawkins Award. There are MANY people who work together to pull it off each year - it is a huge undertaking with a lot of moving parts - but hosting the event is always worth it. The many memories and story lines this tournament creates are timeless and endless - and that is what makes it special!" The eight schools that make up the tournament - Argos, Bremen, Culver Community, John Glenn, New Prairie, Oregon-Davis, Triton and host LaVille - gather together to take care of administrative items along with the all-important draw in early December. As the tournament moves into its 60th year, there were some changes made to the week-long schedule. Beginning this year, opening night was scheduled to be Tuesday, January 21. That was until mother nature sent an arctic blast that sent the temperatures well below zero. Opening night will now be Wednesday, January 22. There will still be four sites with both girls and boys, along with the junior varsity and varsity teams meeting to play both levels on one night, using two gymnasiums. The varsity ladies will continue to play consolation and semifinal basketball Thursday, January 23. Then the varsity gentlemen take care of the consolation and semifinal round Friday, January 24. Saturday will be filled with JV semifinals in the morning before Championship Saturday tips off in earnest. The JV girls final is scheduled to tip at 12pm, with the JV boys title game to follow. At 6:30pm, the girls varsity gets under way, with the boys varsity finale set for an 8:30pm tip. TICKET INFORMATION *All-Session $15 ticket (digital only) click https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=108434 *Single-Session $7 tickets available on-line and at the door SPECIAL RECOGNITION According to Hostrawser, the Bi-County Tournament will recognize past champions from the 1975 John Glenn team - the 50th anniversary champions. The 1975 Falcons defeated New Prairie, 68-50, and were coached by John Hans. "This year we will continue to honor past championship teams between the boys semi-final games on Friday night," said Hostrawser. "We will also be honoring a male and female player from each team as Everwise will award the WB Hawkins $1000 scholarship between the girls and boys championships on Saturday night." EVERWISE BI-COUNTY LIVE STREAM/BROADCAST "I believe the first ever live sports broadcast by MAX 98.3FM was here at the Everwise Bi-County Tournament," Hostrawser said when asked about media coverage. "Tony Ross and crew always do an outstanding job promoting the teams and communities of our tournament. Matt Florian and his LVH1 crew have worked with new software to create some new scoreboard graphics utilizing a new Daktronics platform used in his classroom by LaVille students. Both these media outlets do a fantastic job making the Everwise Bi-County tournament special." 60th Annual Everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament Pairings Wednesday Jan. 22, 2025 At Four Sites (JV & Varsity Games Played) Culver at Triton, 6pm John Glenn at Argos, 6pm Oregon-Davis at Bremen, 6pm New Prairie at LaVille, 6pm Thursday Jan. 23, 2025 At LaVille Varsity Girl Semifinals/Consolations, 6:30 and 8pm Friday Jan. 24, 2025 At LaVille Varsity Boy Semifinals/Consolations, 6:30 and 8pm Saturday Jan. 25, 2025 At LaVille JV Girls Semifinals, 9am JV Boys Semifinals, 1030am JV Girls Championship, 12:00pm JV Boys Championship, 1:30pm Varsity Girls Championship, 6:30pm Varsity Boys Championship, 8:30pm