By DAN BISER

The annual Hallsboro Invitational Middle School Basketball Tournament will have one of its largest fields when play begins today and runs through Feb. 16 at Baldwin-Sessions gym on the HMS campus.

Daily admission to the popular post-season event will be $3.

The 2006 tournament has 10 boys teams and 11 girls teams. The tournament has become one of the largest middle school athletic showcases in Southeastern North Carolina. This is the 14th year of the event.

Today’s first-round action will have a 4 p.m. girls game between host Hallsboro and Chadbourn. At 5:15, girls teams from Acme-Delco and Fair Bluff will square off, followed by a 6:30 boys game between Cerro Gordo and Acme-Delco. Tonight’s final game at 7:45 will put host Hallsboro up against Waccamaw Academy.

First-round action will continue on Friday with a 4 p.m. girls game between Cerro Gordo and Leland, followed by a 5:15 girls game between Shallotte and Williams. At 6:30, Tabor City and Waccamaw (Ash) will meet in a girls game. Boys action will get underway at 7:45 with Williams going against Shallotte and Chadbourn taking on Waccamaw at 9.

The Whiteville Central girls team has a first-round bye and will take the floor Monday at 4 p.m., in second-round action against Thursday’s Fair Bluff vs. Acme-Delco winner. That will be followed at 5:15 by a second-round girls game between winners of Thursday’s Tabor City-Waccamaw and Leland-Cerro Gordo games.

The Whiteville Central boys and Leland boys have first-round byes and will open second-round play on Monday. Leland will meet Thursday’s Hallsboro-Waccamaw Academy winner at 6:30 and Central will go against the winner of Thursday’s Cerro Gordo vs. Acme-Delco game.

Girls semi-final games will be played on Tuesday at 4 and 5:15, followed by boys semi-final games 6:30 and 7:45.

The girls championship game will be played Thursday at 5:15, followed by the boys championship game at 6:30.

Central is the defending boys champion and Hallsboro is the defending girls champ.