RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Hoyle basketball tournament has a storied history

Sharon High School will hold one of Western Pennsylvania's longest running junior basketball tournaments, the Sharon Lions Club/W.U. Hoyle Basketball Tournament, from March 27 through March 30.
The event will feature four games each evening with the consolations and championships set for Saturday evening.
According to tournament officials, the event will follow last year's format where All-Star teams from a large area of Western Pennsylvania (all-county teams) will clash, leading up to Saturday's championships.
This will be the 65th Hoyle Tournament, which was started by W.U. Bill Hoyle in 1938. It was one of the most anticipated basketball events of the year in Mercer County and was played before huge crowds, not only at the F.H. Buhl Club where the event was first staged, but also at Sharon High.
Some of the nation's top players competed in the week-long event, which was the focal point of college scouts who wanted to get a look at these top prospects.
Staying afloat: Because of changes made by the NCAA for players competing in these tourneys, the attendance figure has dropped considerably and the Lions Club has tried to keep the Hoyle Tourney afloat.
"We're attempting to keep this event breathing," said Lions Club and Hoyle spokesman, John Thiel. "This thing is our chief money raiser. Attendance is nothing like it used to be."
Proceeds of the event will go to a number of local charities.
There will be one major change this year.
The annual banquet will be held following the tourney.
The banquet will be held on April 5, and the speaker will be Jack Marin, former Farrell High School basketball great, who went on to greater fame at Duke University and in the NBA.
Marin, who played for a number of NBA teams, was also involved in politics at one time. He should have a tremendous message for the young players attending the banquet.
As Thiel related, "It's just a great night for the young people and Jack Marin will make it even greater."
Joe Viola is the tourney director and Jim Bestwick is co-director.
Awards: Another highlight of the evening is the presentation of the Erme Awards, which go to a senior boy and girl who displayed superior talent during their high school basketball careers.
The Erme Awards were instituted in 1992 to recognize Mike Erme Jr. for his support of the banquet since its beginning. Mike Erme III has continued the support since his father's passing in 1996. Mike Erme III is also one of the major sponsors of the Mercer County Hall of Fame Banquet held each year in January at The Radisson.
Several of the player and team awards this year will be presented during the course of the tourney. Others will be presented following the championship games on Saturday evening.
Bestwick is trying to get several Ohio teams, namely those from Trumbull and Mahoning Counties, to compete as they did last year.
Tourney founder "Bill" Hoyle used tourney proceeds for educational scholarships for area youth. In 1973, Hoyle turned the operation of the tourney over to the Lions Club. He passed away in 1981 at the age of 91. The Lions Club has attempted to continue on the same path that Hoyle charted despite numerous setbacks.