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archives December 2007 Notre Dame No. 1, but field awaits in SEMO tournament New 12.3.07 The bracket says Notre Dame, but the results of the first two weeks of the high school boys basketball season might leave the SEMO Conference Tournament open for the taking when it starts Monday at Sikeston High School. Notre Dame, ranked No. 1 in this week's SemoSportsWeb Top 25, is the only Top 25 team that hasn't yet played a game, but the Bulldogs face their initial test when semifinals tip off Tuesday. The Bulldogs will play the winner of Monday's game between Kennett and Dexter. Only two other teams in the field are unbeaten: third-seeded Sikeston is 2-0 going into Tuesday's semifinal against Poplar Bluff, and unseeded Caruthersville is 0-0 heading into Monday's game against, Cape Girardeau Central, which is unseeded but ranked No. 11 in the SemoSportsWeb Top 25. Semifinals are Thursday night, with finals Friday. Top 25 favorites advance to semifinal showdowns New 12.4.07 Five teams ranked in the SemoSportsWeb Top 25 are among eight teams awaiting semifinal berths Thursday and Friday in two area boys basketball tournaments. At the SEMO Conference Tournament in Sikeston, No. 1-ranked Notre Dame, No. 2 Sikeston and No. 6 Jackson all advanced over lower-seeded teams in the quarterfinal round, setting up semifinals Thursday that start with Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Charleston at 6 p.m., followed by Sikeston vs. Jackson at 7:30. Finals are Friday. At Hillsboro's Gene Steighorst Invitational, Hillsboro and Howell Central won quarterfinals Tuesday. Semifinals Friday will pit No. 13 Festus against rival DeSoto at 6, followed by Hillsboro vs. Howell Central at 7:30. Finals are Saturday. NCAA wipes out four years of Southeast basketball victories New 12.6.07 The NCAA is set to erase four seasons of wins by the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team barring an appeal from the school. An NCAA committee also decided during an October meeting announced by the school on Wednesday that the school's 2006 NCAA Tournament appearance also would be taken away. All the wins and the tournament trip came under former coach B.J. Smith, who was fired in late 2006. His team's 79 wins over the four-year span will be forfeited. The decisions by the NCAA come after 22 months of investigation. The committee found a variety of violations, including improper transportation of prospective players; prospects receiving summer lodging without appropriate payment; and members of the women's staff observing summer workouts of prospective and enrolled athletes. The NCAA cited the direct involvement of Smith and said violations involved "ineligible competition in a case where there was also a finding of a lack of institutional control." Both Smith and univerity president Ken Dobbins are seeking appeals. No. 1, No. 2 boys teams fall in SEMO Conference semifinals New 12.7.07 Charleston and Jackson will play for the SEMO Conference Tournament championship Friday after they knocked off the top two Top 25 teams Thursday at Sikeston. Charleston upended No. 1 Notre Dame 77-47 in the opener, and Jackson upset No. 2 Sikeston 74-69 in overtime in the final game. Thursday's results set up Friday's final round, which features fifth place at 5:30 p.m., third place at 7, and the championship at 8:30. In Thursday's first semifinal, Charleston led by 10 points in the first four minutes of the game, then buit a 30-point lead by halftime. Notre Dame (1-1) was without returning starters Ryan Willen and Austin Greer, who sat out with injuries. In the second semifinal, Jackson pulled even with Sikeston for the first time in the fourth quarter, and Jake Leet scored on a three-point shot to put Jackson ahead 66-63 in overtime, breaking the game's final tie. Charleston, Hayti draw top seeds in Christmas tournaments New 12.9.07 Charleston is No. 1 at Cape Girardeau and Hayti is No. 1 in Bloomfield after coaches set the brackets for two area boys basketball Christmas tournaments. At Cape Girardeau's Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, Charleston is No. 1 after rolling through the SEMO Conference Tournament field with a championship win over Jackson on Friday. The Bluejays are the top seed over defending champion Bell City, Jackson, Scott County Central and Notre Dame. At Bloomfield, Hayti is No. 1 over Bernie, Doniphan, Bloomfield and Dexter. Defending tournament champion Malden is seventh. Games at both sites begin Dec. 26 with finals Dec. 29. Kingston wins in OT to stop streak at 97 games New 12.11.07 It took more than four years, but Kingston's boys basketball team is back on the plus side of a final score. The Cougars stopped their Southeast Missouri-record losing streak at 97 games Tuesday with a 64-61 double-overtime win at home against Grandview. The win was the first on a varsity boys basketball level since February 2003 for the school near Cadet in Washington County, and it ended Southeast Missouri's longest winless streak. First-year coach Michael Schnatz credited seniors Nathan Boyer, Derek Govero and Shawn Henry for keeping the team focused after an 0-5 start. They "didn’t cry and whine when they came out" for the team this year, Schnatz told the Daily News Journal. "Those three guys said they were going to break the streak, and they get the credit for being here four years and turning it around." The last win for Grandview (0-7) came in February against the Cougars, and the Eagles also handed Kingston (1-5) the first loss of their losing streak in February 2003. Charleston faces Borgia to highlight Heartland Hoopfest New 12.14.07 A matchup between once-beaten Charleston and once-beaten St. Francis Borgia highlights a seven-game schedule in the fourth annual Heartland Hoopfest for high school boys basketball teams. The annual event at Perry Park Center in Perryville features five teams ranked among the SemoSportsWeb Top 25, including No. 1 Bell City and No. 24 Saxony Lutheran, which meet at 4:50 p.m. The day starts at 10:30 a.m. with St. Vincent vs. Valle. No. 2 Charleston (6-1) will play Borgia (8-2) at 8 p.m. in the final game. Borgia goes to Perryville off back-to-back losses to CBC and Chaminade. At 6:25, No. 3 Scott County Central (6-1) meets Indianapolis Arlington, which is 1-5 after five straight losses. The Perryville event continues a busy stretch through December that also features the start of the Lady Royals Christmas Classic for girls teams at Twin Rivers on Saturday, as well as the second day of the two-day Tiger Classic wrestling tournament in Cape Girardeau. Tournaments continue Monday with the start of the St. Francis Medical Center Tournament for girls teams in Cape Girardeau. On Dec. 15, the Show Me Center hosts the first Pepsi Showdown for boys teams. On Dec. 26 and Dec. 27, boys basketball tournaments for area teams begin at Bloomfield; Cabool; Cape Girardeau; Dyersburg, Tenn.; Park Hills; Poplar Bluff; and Rolla. Fredericktown, St. Clair draw top seeds at Park Hills New 12.15.07 St. Clair's boys and Fredericktown's girls are the top seeds for the 52nd annual Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Christmas Tournament. The brackets determined Saturday by the team's coaches put St. Clair (6-1) at No. 1 ahead of the field's only unbeatean team, South Iron, which landed at No. 2. DeSoto, Fredericktown, North County, Farmington, Hillsboro and Potosi make up the top half of the 16-team bracket, which opens with first-round games at Park Hills on Dec. 26. Finals are Monday, Dec. 31. In the eight-team girls division, Fredericktown is first over St. James, Arcadia Valley, Park Hills Central, South Iron, Bismarck, Herculaneum and Potosi. Perryville loses football coach and two sports; swimming, soccer added New 12.18.07 Rick Chastain has resigned as Perryville High School's football coach. The resignation was accepted by the school board late Monday, one of several decisions that will change the school's athletic landscape next season. Chastain was 17-34 in five seasons with the Pirates. His team was 4-6 this season after a 3-0 start, which included the team's first win over rival Ste. Genevieve since 1989. But the Pirates lost six games in a row from there, ending the season with a defeat of Kennett. In addition to a new football coach, two new sports will debut at the school when the 2008-'09 calendar year begins. Programs for boys soccer and girls swimming were approved starting next season, replacing boys and girls cross country, which was dropped because of low participation. Semifinals today in Lady Royals, St. Francis tournaments New 12.20.07 Top-seeded teams take the court at 7 p.m. today in the final step toward championship berths in two high school girls basketball tournaments. At Twin Rivers' Lady Royals Christmas Classic, top-seeded Dexter faces Portageville at 7 in the second of two championship semifinals today. At 4, Naylor plays Kelly. The winners meet Friday. At the Show Me Center, top-seeded Farmington faces Cape Girardeau Central at 7 in the eight-team St. Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic. At 8:30, rivals Jackson and Notre Dame play the second semifinal. Winners meet Friday for the championship. Farmington school board approves football move to SEMO Conference New 12.20.07 Farmington will join the SEMO Conference North Division next season after the move was approved Tuesday night in a unanimous vote by the school board. The Knights, which posted a 21-2 record over the past four years in the Mississippi Area Football Conference's Red Division, received approval from SEMO Conference athletic directors on Dec. 4 to join the league. The conference has said it will formally approve membership in its August 2008 meeting. Farmington played two of the four existing SEMO Conference North members this season: the Knights defeated Poplar Bluff 49-14 and Sikeston 42-0 in back-to-back weeks. The school will add Cape Girardeau Central and Jackson to the 2008 schedule. The move leaves the MAFC Red Division with seven teams following the addition of Fox and Seckman two years ago. The MAFC begins its eighth season next year. The Knights will continue to compete in the Mineral Area Activities Association in other sports, including basketball. Farmington is the first school to join the SEMO Conference since New Madrid County Central joined the Central Division in the mid 1980s. Rivals DeSoto, Farmington open first Pepsi Showcase New 12.20.07 A matchup between two of the top six seeds in the Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Christmas Tournament kicks off the schedule Saturday in the first Pepsi Showcase for boys basketball teams at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. DeSoto, 5-2 and seeded No. 3 in the Park Hills Central tournament, opens the seven-game event against Farmington, 2-4 and seeded No. 6 at Park Hills. That event begins Wednesday. Six other games round out Saturday's event, including the 6:45 p.m. game between McCluer North, ranked No. 1 in St. Louis by the Post-Dispatch newspaper, and Memphis (Tenn.) White Station, ranked No. 8 in Memphis by the Commercial-Appeal newspaper. Other games feature Poplar Bluff against Fort Zumwalt South at 11:45 a.m., Cape Girardeau Central vs. Vienna, Ill., at 1:30 p.m., Lafayette vs. Pinckneyville, Ill., at 3:15, Notre Dame vs. Gateway Tech at 5, and Jackson vs. Webster Groves at 8:30. Central, PB, Farmington among Showcase winners New 12.22.07 Unbeaten Webster Groves closed the inaugural Pepsi Showcase with the most lopsided win of the day, a 72-51 defeat of Jackson in the day-long boys basketball event Saturday at the Show Me Center. The Statesmen, 7-0 and ranked No. 2 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch large-school division, cruised to a double-figure lead early and led 43-22 by halftime. Jackson is 5-3 and No. 4 in the SemoSportsWeb Top 25. Other Southeast Missouri teams had mixed results in earlier games. Notre Dame, No. 13 in the SemoSportsWeb Top 25, lost to Gateway Tech of St. Louis' Public High League on a tip-in at the buzzer, ending a 58-56 overtime game. In a pairing of potential opponents at next week's Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Christmas Tournament at Park Hills, Farmington rallied for its third straight win after an 0-4 start with an overtime defeat of No. 12 DeSoto, 47-46. Cape Girardeau Central defeated Vienna, Ill., 46-45, and No. 18 Poplar Bluff defeated Fort Zumwalt South 57-49 in other games involving area teams. Also Saturday, Lafayette defeated Pinckneyville, Ill., 63-53, and Memphis White Station, ranked No. 8 in metro Memphis by the Commercial-Appeal newspaper, defeated McCluer North, the Post-Dispatch's top-ranked St. Louis area team, 65-57. Semifinals set after No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 teams fall New 12.27.07 Three of the top five teams in the SemoSportsWeb Top 25 won't play for tournament chamionships after they lost Thursday in boys basketball quarterfinal games. At Cape Girardeau, top-ranked Bell City lost for the first time this season to Cape Girardeau Central, while No. 3 Scott County Central fell to Notre Dame in another quarterfinal. That sets up Friday's semifinals between Charleston and Notre Dame at 6 p.m. and Cape Girardeau Central vs. Jackson at 7:30. At Poplar Bluff, No. 4 Sikeston lost to Harrison, Ga., to fall into the consolation semifinal round. The Bulldogs will play Maplewood, a team coached by Charleston grad Corey Frazier, at 4:30 p.m. Friday. At Bloomfield, Puxico and Hayti will play in a 7 p.m. semifinal Friday, followed at 8:30 by Malden vs. Doniphan. Semifinals also are set for local teams Friday at Cabool, Rolla and Dyersburg, Tenn., while quarterfinals are scheduled at Park Hills. Round-robin games continue Friday at Saxony Lutheran. Bloomfield, Cape, Cabool fields reach final day New 12.28.07 Boys basketball tournaments at Bloomfield, Cabool and Cape Girardeau will end Saturday with new champions after teams at each site advanced in semifinals Friday. At Bloomfield, SemoSportsWeb Top 25 teams Hayti (No. 8) and Doniphan (No. 22) play for the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament championship after semifinals wins. The third-place matchup pairs Malden with Puxico. At Cabool, No. 9 Eminence and No. 15 Thayer reached the championship after double-digit wins Friday. Eminence dropped last year's title game to Crocker. At Cape Girardeau, No. 7 Jackson and No. 12 Notre Dame meet for the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament championship. No. 2 Charleston and Cape Girardeau Central will play for third place. Christmas tournament titles go to Hayti, Jackson New 12.28.07 Hayti held off a series of late shots by Doniphan to seal its first-ever Bloomfield Christmas Tournament championship Saturday, while Jackson rode a 31-point game by Jake Leet to defeat Notre Dame 61-53 for its third tournament championship in the past five years at the Show Me Center. At Bloomfield, Hayti took the lead for the final time with 90 seconds to play, then watched the Dons miss a series of shots in the final seconds of a 51-49 finish. Hayti, which was seeded No. 1 in the tournament and ranked No. 8 in the SemoSportsWeb Top 25 last week, is 9-2. Doniphan, ranked No. 22, is 8-4 and had its winning streak stopped at seven games. At Cape Girardeau, third-seeded Jackson (9-4) watched tournament favorites Bell City and Charleston fall short of the final round, then held the tournament's top scorer, Ryan Willen, 13 points below his average in its win. Jackson's appearance in the championship was its eighth in the past 10 years. Fifth-seeded Notre Dame (7-5) pulled to within three points in the final four minutes but got no closer. Willen's 27 points led the Bulldogs. Who's No. 1? After holiday ups and downs, it's Sikeston New 12.31.07 For the first time this season, Sikeston ranks No. 1 among Southeast Missouri's 83 high school boys basketball teams. The Bulldogs climbed to the top of Monday's SemoSportsWeb Top 25 after a 2-1 run through the Poplar Bluff Showdown that ended Saturday. Sikeston defeated Poplar Bluff for the consolation trophy. Sikeston became the third No. 1 team in the Southeast Missouri rankings this season. Scott County Central started the season at No. 1 before giving way to Bell City, but the Cubs went 1-2 during last week's four-day event at the Show Me Center and dropped out of the top 10. Tournament champions Jackson, Hayti and Thayer all climbed in the rankings: Jackson rose to No. 2 from No. 7 after winning at the Show Me Center; Hayti climbed from No. 8 to No. 6 after winning at Bloomfield; and Thayer went from No. 15 to No. 8 after winning at Cabool. South Iron and St. Clair play for the Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Christmas Tournament title Monday night in Park Hills. |
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