Dust Bowl starts 50th run Monday night
Jul. 24—The 50th annual Dust Bowl will tip off with games Monday night at Kendall-Perkins Park.
There are 20 teams spread across five divisions of what has been a summertime staple for outdoor basketball tournaments. There will be roughly 240 players in 30 games on the schedule.
The 7-8th grade boys' division is the largest in this summer's event with eight teams. The Dust Bowl is a double elimination event.
There was a Praise in the Park Gospel Celebration on Sunday, but the basketball is scheduled to get going Monday.
There is a 5th-6th grade boys' game Monday with Legacy Elite and Quality Mart Carnival Cafe at 7 p.m. on court A. A second 5th-6th grade boys' game with Owensboro and OBKY Gators at 7:15 p.m. on court B.
There are 7th-8th grade boys' games Monday on court A at 8 p.m. (DC Ballerz vs. DC West) and 9 p.m. (Legacy Elite 2027 vs. Blue Ridge). There is a men's open game at 9:45 p.m. (Panthers vs. Different Breed) on court A.
There are 7th-8th grade boys' games Monday on court B at 8:15 p.m. (Tri-State vs. Westside Auto Stars) and at 9:15 p.m. (Aces vs. Legacy 7). There is a men's open game at 10:15 p.m. (ATA vs. Dog Pound) on court B.
There are four more games starting at 7 p.m. on court A Tuesday and four more games starting at 7:15 on court B Tuesday.
On Wednesday there are 7th-8th grade boys' games at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on court A, and a 7th-8th boys' game at 7:15 p.m. on court B.
There are games Thursday at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on court A, and games at 7:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. on court B.
The 3rd-4th grade boys' championship (Gators Blue vs. Gators Orange) will be Friday at 7 p.m. on court A. The 5th-6th grade boys' championship will be Friday at 8:15 p.m. on court A.
There is a 7th-8th grade boys' game at 9:30 p.m. Friday on court A, and a men's open game at 9:45 p.m. on court B.
There are championship games Saturday for 7th-8th boys at 7 p.m., high school boys at 8:15 p.m. and men's open at 9:30 p.m. on court A.
There were only two teams entered in the high school division, and only two teams in the 3rd-4th grade division.
"That's just the way it's going to be," Byron Owen, Dust Bowl president, said of the number of teams overall for the 50th annual event.
Owen had said earlier in July that this was likely his final Dust Bowl.
Owen, who has been involved with the tournament in some capacity every year of its existence, and fellow board members — vice president Rippo Hinton and treasurer Othello Millan — are planning to step down at the end of the year. They are looking for others to take over running the Dust Bowl.
"As far as going forward, my thought is really getting through this year's Dust Bowl and then after that deciding what direction we'll go after the first of the year," Owen said earlier in July. "Whether that's a community organization or the City of Owensboro putting it on and adding it to their calendar, we're going to worry about that after this is over."
The Dust Bowl has been run by volunteers through all the years of the event. Owen said earlier that the workload is often greater than what people think. Securing funding and getting teams set are always top priorities.
"Anybody is free to have a Dust Bowl," Owen said Saturday. "We have no contingency plan. We're just hopefully going to have a good, safe Dust Bowl."SCHEDULE BOX
50th annual Dust Bowl
at Kendall-Perkins Park
Monday
Court A
5th-6th boys: Legacy Elite vs. Quality Mart Carnival Cafe, 7 p.m.
7th-8th boys: DC Ballerz vs. DC West, 8 p.m.
7th-8th boys: Legacy Elite 2027 vs. Blue Ridge, 9 p.m.
Men's open: Panthers vs. Different Breed, 9:45 p.m.
Court B
5th-6th boys: Owensboro vs. OBKY Gators, 7:15 p.m.
7th-8th boys: Tri-State vs. Westside Auto Stars, 8:15 p.m.
7th-8th boys: Aces vs. Legacy 7, 9:15 p.m.
Men's open: ATA vs. Dog Pound, 10:15 p.m.
Tuesday
Court A
5th-6th grade boys' game (WB), 7 p.m.
7th-8th grade boys' game (LB), 8 p.m.
7th-8th grade boys' game (WB), 9 p.m.
Men's open game (WB), 10 p.m.
Court B
5th-6th grade boys' game (LB), 7:15 p.m.
7th-8th grade boys' game (LB), 8:15 p.m.
7th-8th grade boys' game (WB), 9:15 p.m.
Men's open (LB), 10:15 p.m.
Wednesday
Court A
7th-8th grade boys' game (WB), 7 p.m.
7th-8th grade boys' game (LB), 8 p.m.
Court B
7th-8th grade boys' game (LB), 7:15 p.m.
Thursday
Court A
5th-6th boys' game (LB), 7 p.m.
Men's open game (WB), 8 p.m.
Court B
7th-8th grade boys' game (LB), 7:15 p.m.
Men's open game (LB), 8:15 p.m.
Friday
Court A
3rd-4th grade boys' championship: Gators Blue vs. Gators Orange, 7 p.m.
5th-6th grade boys' championship, 8:15 p.m.
7th-8th grade boys' game (LB), 9:30 p.m.
Court B
Men's open game (LB), 9:45 p.m.
Saturday
Championship games
Court A
7th-8th grade boys, 7 p.m.
High school boys (Big Game Generals vs. Raiders), 8:15 p.m.
Men's open, 9:30 p.m.
