The 2021-22 high school basketball season kicks off next week with two Chronicle Country preseason tournaments.

Both the Lake Murray Tip Off Classic and Tip Off at the Dam take place starting Monday in Lexington.

Lexington High School will serve as host site for the Lake Murray Tipoff Classic utilizing both the old and new gymnasiums.

The Wildcats will open against Barnwell in one gym, while White Knoll faces Swansea in the other with both games starting at 7 p.m.

The Lexington/Barnwell winner faces either Laurence Manning or Fox Creek Tuesday for a berth in Wednesday’s 11:30 a.m. final. The White Knoll/Swansea winner faces either Lugoff-Elgin or Batesburg-Leesville for a berth in the final.

“We’ve got another solid field with the tip off this year,” Lexington head coach Elliott Pope said. “Really excited about being able to host the event this year and have things move more toward the norm with all games being held at Lexington.

“We have daily expectations with this group. We are very young, talented, but young. With that being said, we’re having to learn how to practice, execute and handle big moments. This will be a really fun team to see how they look in November compared to March.”

“We are returning 2 seniors from last year’s team, Tyhler Simmons and Quincy Weston,” said White Knoll head coach Darrick Cureton, who like Pope, is also entering his second season. “We are replacing the production of seven seniors, three of which are playing college basketball this year. They were a veteran team and this is a young team. We are excited to see these young guys grow up and replace the production lost from last season.”

Cureton also sees this tournament as an opportunity to gain “game experience” by playing “live game action against some good competition”.

“We just have to be patient with our growth as a team and understand, this is a marathon and not a sprint,” he said. “We hope we can come out of this tournment with better idea of who we are as team and hungry to improve each day.”

Chapin High School and defending Class 5A champion River Bluff will co-host the Tip Off at the Dam. The tournament final will take place at 1:30 pm in The Swamp.

The sites and times for the consolation games taking place on the final day of the Tip Off at the Dam will be announced following Tuesday’s games.

Lake Murray Tip Off Classic

(Monday’s Games)

Lugoff-Elgin vs. Batesburg-Leesville (old gym) 5:30 p.m.

Lexington vs. Barnwell (new gym) 7 p.m.

White Knoll vs. Swansea (old gym) 7 p.m

Laurence Manning vs. Fox Creek (old gym) 8:30 p.m.

(Tuesday’s Games)

Winner’s games (new gym) 5:30 p.m and 7 p.m.

Consolation game (old gym) 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

(Wednesday’s Games)

Seventh place game 10 a.m. (old gym)

Third place game 10 a.m. (new gym)

Fifth place game 11:30 a.m. (old gym)

Championship 11:30 a.m. (new gym)

Tip Off at The Dam

Monday’s Games

(At Chapin High School) Dutch Fork vs. Cross Creek 6 p.m.

Wando at Chapin 7:30 p.m.

(At River Bluff High School) South Aiken vs. Summerville 6 p.m.

Lakewood vs. River Bluff 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday’s Games

(At Chapin High School) Consolation game 6 p.m.

Winner’s game 7:30 p.m.

(At River Bluff High School) Consolation game 6 p.m.

Winner’s game 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s Games

Seventh place game noon or 1:30 p.m.

Fifth place game noon or 1:30 p.m.

Third place game noon or 1:30 p.m.

Championship 1:30 p.m.