Saturday, Dec. 17, the Atlantic boys’ basketball team will play at the Mid-America Center. They are playing in the Jennie Ed Sports Med Mac Shootout. This is the 11th annual Jennie Ed Sports Med Mac Shootout.

 According to the event’s website, the three-day shootout will host 38 regional boys’ and girls’ high school basketball teams. The first day consists of all girls’ games, the second day is Southwest Iowa match-ups, and the third day is Nebraska vs Iowa. The Nebraska vs Iowa games are called the Battle of the Border and gives the states bragging rights.

The 2016-17 Atlantic boys’ basketball isn’t the first team to play there. The last team to play there was the 2009-10 Trojan basketball team. That team played Lewis Central and lost 62-42.

The 2016-17 boy’s team will play Elmwood-Murdock on Dec. 17. Elmwood-Murdock is a class C-2 in Nebraska and they are currently ranked first in the state in their class. In the 2015-16 season Elmwood-Murdock won the state tournament.

This event doesn’t come to just any team, you have to be invited to play.

Junior forward Grant Podhajsky said, “It will be a really fun atmosphere, and overall a great experience. Besides playing in a great arena, we get to play a great team,” and this will be a great test for the Trojans.

The Trojans got this great opportunity by getting selected by Jennie Ed Sports Medicine. Atlantic is one of two premiere games played Saturday. Lewis Central and South Sioux City is the other premiere matchup. There are four Hawkeye Ten teams in the Mac Shootout: Glenwood, Denison, Lewis Central, and Atlantic.

Head coach Alan Jenkins said, “We are excited for the kids, and it is fun to play against a #1 team from another state. It is fun to play in a game and to get state bragging rights, and it says a lot about our program to get put in this type of matchup.”

Jenkins said, “We are going there to get a win, and play in a big environment. We have a great chance to play in substate final.” The state has discussed changing substate games into bigger arenas and Jenkins said, “it’ll be good to get the experience.”

The boys basketball team has a record of 5-0 and play Friday, Dec. 16, against Shenandoah at home.