RESERVE – The Reserve Christian boys basketball team ran their season undefeated streak to 12 in a row this past week, winning the East Iberville Tournament with three straight victories.

But the biggest challenge of the season now faces the team with their first big out-of-state tournament, which begins on Thanksgiving Day in Forrest, Ark.

The “Rumble on the Ridge” tournament will feature eight teams from several states, bringing together three of the top five senior high school players in the nation.

“There are three kids who have already signed with LSU, Mississippi State and North Carolina,” Reserve Christian head coach Timmy Byrd said. “But any of the three may not even play college. Any of them might go straight to the pros.”

Reserve Christian got tuned up for the Arkansas tournament by sweeping three opponents in the East Iberville event, moving their season record out to 12-0.

They beat Brusly 87-46 as Demond “Tweetie” Carter had 31 points, Tino Brozos scored 18 and Kevin Porter scored 11; they downed Redemptorist in the semi-finals, 78-57, as Carter had 28, Brozos had 18 and Porter had 10; then they won in the championship game over North Iberville, 87-53, with Carter scoring 27, Porter scoring 15 along with 12 rebounds and six blocks, Brozos scoring 14 and Kevin Branch scoring 13.

Branch and Carter were both named to the all-tournament team.

But the team figures to face its toughest competition of the season beginning Thursday in the first of the out-of-state events that Byrd has scheduled for his club. The Eagles will also be traveling to high-profile tournaments later this season in Lake Charles, Fort Myers, Fla., Houston, Tx., and Dayton, Ohio.

“This will be a tough tournament all around, but we do it to make our team better,” Byrd remarked. “This will really challenge our kids and that’s what we want.”

Opening tournament action for the Eagles on Thursday will pit them against Boliver Central, Tenn., the defending Tennessee state 2A champ.