If you’re a fan of high school basketball, it’s strongly recommended that you head to St. Mary’s High School in Lynn this weekend.

The Spartan Classic basketball tournament is underway, featuring 24 high school teams (16 girls, 8 boys) across a four-day marathon of games from February 17-20.

It’s the largest co-ed high school basketball tournament in Massachusetts, and features teams from Newburyport, Newton South, Dracut, Cohasset, Lowell Catholic, Lincoln-Sudbury, Dartmouth, Springfield Central, Malden Catholic, Lynn English, Lynn Classical, Bedford, Fontbonne, Acton-Boxboro, Billerica, Whitman-Hanson, Pentucket, Andover, Oliver Ames, and host St. Mary’s.

The Spartan Classic was originally a girls tournament beginning in 2006, but expanded to include boys teams in 2018. 

Last season was a dandy, featuring buzzer-beaters, overtimes, and superb individual performances. Champions were St. Mary’s, Pentucket, and Oliver Ames in girls; Lowell Catholic and Malden Catholic in boys.

By the way, St. Mary’s girls defeated Dracut, 73-72, behind 17 point-performances from Niya Morgen and Kellyn Preira. Yirsy Queliz hit the game-winning shot to spoil things for Dracut’s Ashlee Talbot, who netted 46 points.

The complete schedule is as follows: 

Saturday, February 17

Game 1, Girls: Newburyport (Away) vs. Newton South (Home), 10:30

Game 2, Girls: Dracut (Away) vs. Cohasset (Home), 12:00

Game 3, Boys: Lowell Catholic (Away) vs. Lincoln-Sudbury (Home), 1:45

Game 4, Boys: Dartmouth (Away) vs. Springfield Central (Home), 3:15

Game 5, Boys: Malden Catholic (Away) vs. Lynn English (Home), 5:00

Game 6, Boys: Lynn Classical (Away) vs. St. Mary’s (Home), 6:30

Sunday, February 18

Game 7, Girls: Bedford (Away) vs. Fontbonne (Home), 10:30

Game 8, Girls: Acton-Boxboro (Away) vs. Malden Catholic (Home), 12:00

Game 9, Girls: Billerica (Away) vs. Whitman-Hanson (Home), 1:45

Game 10, Girls: Lincoln-Sudbury (Away) vs. Pentucket (Home), 3:15

Game 11, Girls: Andover (Away) vs. Oliver Ames (Home), 5:00

Game 12, Girls: Dartmouth (Away) vs. St. Mary’s (Howme), 6:30

Monday, February 19

Game 13, Boys: Loser Game 3 (Away) vs. Loser Game 6 (Home), 10:30

Game 14, Girls: Loser Game 1 (Away) vs. Loser Game 2 (Home), 12:00

Game 15, Boys: Loser Game 4 (Away) vs. Loser Game 5 (Home), 1:45

Game 16, Girls: Winner Game 1 (Away) vs. Winner Game 2 (Home), 3:30

Game 17, Boys: Winner Game 4 (Away) vs. Winner Game 5 (Home), 5:00

Game 18, Boys: Winner Game 3 (Away) vs. Winner Game 6 (Home), 6:30

Tuesday, February 20

Game 19, Girls: Loser Game 7 (Away) vs. Loser Game 8 (Home), 10:30

Game 20, Girls: Loser Game 9 (Away) vs. Loser Game 10 (Home), 12:00

Game 21, Girls: Loser Game 11 (Away) vs. Loser Game 12 (Home), 1:45

Game 22, Girls: Winner Game 7 (Away) vs. Winner Game 8 (Home), 3:30

Game 23, Girls: Winner Game 9 (Away) vs. Winner Game 10 (Home), 5:00

Game 24, Girls: Winner Game 11 (Away) vs. Winner Game 12 (Home), 6:30