A number of former, current and potential future Lower Columbia College basketball players will compete in the 59th annual Gold Ball men’s basketball tournament, beginning Friday night and continuing through Sunday at Truman Myklebust Gym.

The elite eight-team tournament tips off Friday night with the Young Guns tangling with the Posse at 6, followed by the Clark County All-Stars meeting Aaron’s Sales and Leasing at 7:30.

First-round competition continues Saturday with defending champion Next Step Basketball playing Horsley Timber and Construction at 11 a.m., and the Columbians squaring off with the Multnomah Athletic Club at 12:30.

Consolation games follow at 2:30 and 6 p.m., with semifinal matchups at 4 and 7:30 p.m.

The tournament winds down Sunday with games at noon and 1:30 p.m., followed by the title game at 3.

The Young Guns feature current LCC player Jeray Key, along with Red Devils recruit Dontae Harris of Oregon Class 2A state tournament runner-up DeLaSalle Catholic of North Portland, and Mark Morris High standouts Austin Bragg and Tyler Sokol.

The Posse features player-coach and former Knappa, LCC and Northwest Christian College star Matt “Tex” Cokley, along with Knappa standout and LCC recruit Jesse Moreland, LCC players Alex King and Marice Tolliver, and former LCC, Eastern Washington and Cal Baptist standout Omar Krayem, who will soon be playing professionally in Lebanon.

The Clark County All-Stars includes former MM and current Clark College guard Zach Waldher, ex-MM and University of Puget Sound player Kevin Wright, ex-Rainier and LCC star Kyle Jackson, and ex-LCC and Evergreen State College standouts Nick Moore and Steven Trotter.

Aaron’s is led by ex-Woodland High star Brad Ramey and former MM, LCC and Evergreen State standout Doug Dietz. And Horsley includes former Castle Rock and current LCC player Clint Burgoyne, CR’s Steven Horsley, and LCC redshirt players Tyler and Kyle Benson.

Next Step is led by former Toutle Lake High and University of Portland star Casey Frandsen, former CR, LCC and Northwest Nazarene University star Chad Mitchell, ex-TL, LCC and former Warner Pacific player Ryan Hoff, and ex-CR and LCC player James Gehring.

The Columbians include former Rainier player Hazze Walker, Rainier coach Joe Neill and Rainier superintendent Michael Carter. And Multnomah Athletic Club is led by former Next Step player Dustin Gaddis and a number of Portland-area college standouts.

Admission is a $2 donation, with all proceeds to benefit the LCC basketball program.