Looking for some classic Alabama-Florida high school basketball action?

Pleasant Home and Florala will duke it out with Florida teams Laurel Hill and Baker in the annual Alabama-Florida Shootout on Friday and Saturday at PHS.

PHS coach Jerry Davis said it’s only the beginning of the season for the Eagles.

“We start all of our area play soon, and hopefully, this will get us over the hump and get us started back on the right track,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

The shootout tips off tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. when Florala’s boys face Baker. Afterward, Pleasant Home’s girls will face Laurel Hill at 6 p.m., and then the PHS boys play LHHS in the night cap at 7:30.

On Saturday, the Florala girls and boys play LHHS at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively. PHS concludes the tournament against Baker in girls’ and boys’ action at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.

For PHS girls coach Kelley Garner, her team’s focus this week is to get back in the “swing of things.”

“We hope to use these couple games to get us back ready to play,” Garner said. “We’ve been off for about a week.”

Garner said the Florida competition will help her team get better as area play nears.

“They’re going to be very competitive for us,” she said. “We beat Laurel Hill last year, and lost to Baker by five. They play a physical-type man-to-man style of game.”

Additionally, Garner said she hopes her Lady Eagles will be able to beat Baker this year, as it hasn’t in the tournament’s run.

“We have a good game with them every year,” she said. “We’re hoping this year we’ll be able to change that and win both games.”

Before Florala’s boys tip off in the tournament, the Wildcats will be able to get their feet wet as they take on Red Level tonight.

FHS boys coach Daniel Allison said he knows that both Florida teams bring good defenses to the table.

“Our thing is that we’re going to use these two games as a spring board into area play,” Allison said. “This week is going to be a tough week for us, but it’s going to help us.”

Specifically, Allison said he wants his boys to execute the fundamentals well.

“I just want to see good ball control,” he said. “I want us to play good defnese and just to make good decisions and not get caught up in moments.

“From what I saw in the last two games (against Rocky Bayou and Georgiana), I feel we’re getting to that point (of being a good team),” he said. “I just want to see more of the last two games, of smart play and making good decisions.”

Davis said he will try to be at the game tomorrow night, but if he isn’t, Eagles’ assistant coach Bradley Stephens will be his fill-in.

Stephens said he’ll be looking for the boys to put the ball in the hoop more than they have been.

“Fundamentally wise, we’ve got to be able to control the score,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to score. We haven’t put as many points in in the past few games as what we have been earlier in the season. We’ve got to be able to turn that around.”

Admission is $6 per person.