Tristan Boone of the Blue Devils battles an opponent for possession near the Tift bench. Teammate Kobe Farrie, who dove for the ball, provided an inadvertent seat for the opponent from Coffee.

TIFTON — Two days after Santa Claus makes deliveries to children of all ages across the universe, area fans will get their annual post-Christmas treat. The 13th McDonald’s Tifton Invitational will be at Tift County High School Dec. 27-28.

Six boys basketball teams will participate, with three games each day. Action begins at 5:30 p.m. on both days.

Tickers are $8 on each day, which covers all three contests. Active duty first responders and military personnel will be admitted free with valid ID.

On Tuesday, Dec. 27, Crisp County takes on Fitzgerald at 5:30 p.m., Turner County will play Cook at 7 p.m. and Tift County plays Irwin County at 8:30 p.m.

The slate for Wednesday, Dec. 28 sees Cook and Crisp clash at 5:30 p.m., Irwin and Turner view at 7 p.m. and Tift play Fitzgerald at 8:30 p.m.

“We are excited about this incredible opportunity to highlight six basketball teams in our South Central Georgia area,” said tournament title sponsor Wendell Morgan of the Tifton McDonald’s in a press release.

“I love the proximity of every team that comes in,” said Tift head coach Tommy Blackshear in an interview. He helped the Invitational make the switch over in 2021 to exclusively have schools from the area.

The arrangement has benefits for everyone. Tift won’t have to worry about arrangements for far away teams and the incoming schools won’t have to spend a long time on buses. No school is more than 45 minutes away from Tifton. “It makes me feel good about it,” he said of what the Invitational is able to provide for his neighboring schools.

“We devote many months with a team of dedicated community volunteers to produce this tournament each year which provides a fundraiser for the team, exposure for the sponsors and businesses in the area, and a fun outing for families and basketball fans,” said tournament chair Joyce Danford in release.

Five of the six teams were here in 2021. Crisp County replaces Sumter County, who was unable to make a return trip. The Panthers were here last week for regular season games against Tift.

Blackshear thinks the familiarity of the schools makes it more interesting. Besides them being close geographically, there are many familiar names and faces involved with the programs.

The McDonald’s Tifton Invitational will serve as the boys basketball fundraiser. Whereas other Tift sports have held raffles or auctions, this is the one for the Blue Devils, said Blackshear.

“We need a good turnout,” he said. “This is our big fundraiser of the year.”

The local Blue Devils have a fine 4-2 record for this campaign, but are slightly edged by Crisp for best record. The Cougars were 5-2 headed into a Dec. 21 game against Macon County. Crisp’s wins so far include Wilcox County and Peach County. Macon County and Lee County had defeated them.

Through the first five games, the Cougars were led in scoring by Jamarion Chambliss, with 19 points per game, which he combines with 3.4 steals per game. A.J. Brown led in rebounds at 11.2 per game.

Turner County had recorded three wins going into their own tournament at the end of this week (in which Tift also participates). The Titans have been in a rough patch lately, having lost four straight for a 3-5 mark. Deerfield-Windsor and Atkinson County are among their wins. They had split with Worth County, the loss being the Rams’ first win of 2022-23.

Both Fitzgerald and Irwin County started 2-2. Irwin was to have played Clinch County Dec. 20. Both teams went deep into the state football playoffs and are just now getting their full rosters inside.

That has been a boon to Irwin, as the Indians had begun 0-2 but had won two straight to even their mark. Irwin had beaten Berrien and Cook. The Purple Hurricane are also going to Turner this week for holiday action, having defeated Coffee and Turner already.

Cook seems to be figuring things out after falling in their initial five games. The Hornets picked up win No. 1 against Brooks County (49-42) last week. The marks are a bit deceiving for Cook as even though they had lost five times, only two of those were by more than eight points.

Basketball won’t be the only thing going on at the Invitational. Blackshear said entertainment includes local dance groups.