Bob Sechrest Jr. Christmas Tournament Boys Quarterfinals Preview
(Park Hills) The boys side of the Central Christmas Tournament continues this evening with quarterfinal action on J98.
The first game of the day will feature #1 South Iron taking on #8 Festus.
The Panthers had their first round game canceled so they automatically advanced and will be taking the court for the first time in the tournament.
As the defending champs, South Iron returns stars Brock Wakefield and Drennin Dinkins, who will look to add onto their 6-2 start to the season.
Festus dominated their first round matchup with Fredericktown 67-22 behind big games from Collin Weinhaus and Connor Westoff.
Tigers’ head coach Jason Therell says he feels his team may have been overlooked at this year’s seed meeting for the tournament.
Tipoff of (6-2) South Iron and (6-2) Festus is scheduled for 4.
The second game of the day will be a rematch from back on December 4th when #4 Ste. Genevieve takes on #5 Farmington.
The Dragons bested the Knights in that first matchup 61-54, but Ste. Gen head coach Rob Coleman says he was still going to be grinding out the film from Farmington’s game against Potosi.
Farmington head coach Terry Noble says they will have to be on their game to compete against a tough Dragons team.
Tipoff of (5-3) Ste. Genevieve and (6-1) Farmington is slated for 5:30.
The third game of the night pits #2 North County against #7 DeSoto.
The Raiders received a first round bye due to a cancellation and remain one of the few undefeated teams in the area despite being without their star senior Karter Kekec.
DeSoto won a thriller last night over Hillsboro 54-51 on a Cody Petty bucket with three seconds left.
They will need a similar effort against a North County team that they lost to on December 3rd 74-60.
Dragons’ head coach Zeb Hammond says rebounding and composure will be key.
Tipoff of (6-0) North County and (4-5) DeSoto is scheduled for 7.
The final game of the night will see the host #3 Central squaring off with #6 Steelville.
Both teams earned 30+ point victories in their first round games last night and will look to continue that momentum into this quarterfinal matchup.
Rebels’ head coach Brad Gross says he knows the Cardinals will be a tough group.
Steelville head coach John Tolly says his group will need to try to slow down a very fast Central team.
Tipoff of (6-1) Central and (7-2) Steelville is slated for 8:30.
Coverage of the boys quarterfinals from the 65th Annual Central Christmas Tournament gets underway at 3:45 on J98.
Listen here: Central Christmas Tournament on J98
