For the first time this summer, Gaffney High boys basketball coach Mark Huff and his players will be defending “Their House.”

The Gaffney High Shootout will begin at noon today at the Gaffney High gym with a matchup between perennial 2A power Southside and Byrnes.

The Indians will take the court at 1 p.m. against Mauldin and again at 2 p.m. in a highly-anticipated game against Southside.

Mauldin and Byrnes will play at 3 p.m. and Southside and Mauldin will tip it off at 4 p.m. The event will conclude with a 5 p.m. game between Gaffney and Byrnes.

The public may attend at no charge. But fans must enter the school from the side entrance near the rear of the school. The school’s front entrance will be locked.

Fans can begin entering the gym at 11:30 a.m.

Huff expects his defending Class 4A champs to face some stiff challenges today.

“Southside is always good and coach Lane Fowler is trying to get Byrnes turned around,” Huff said.

Mauldin also should be on its way back to prominence under the former Berea coach, according to Huff.

Huff said the purpose of the shootout is to give players more experience on the court.

The shootout marks the end of the team’s summer program.

“I’ve been pleased with what we’ve done,” the Gaffney coach said. “We saw some improvement in the kids and we saw some things the kids need to work on.”

Gaffney Shootout

The highlight of today's event is a 2 p.m. game betweeen powers Gaffney and Southside.