Bob Sechrest Jr. Christmas Tournament Day 2

(Park Hills) Day two of the Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Basketball Tournament gets underway today with a slate of three games in the boys bracket. Seventh seeded DeSoto (3-5) faces off against 10 seed Hillsboro (3-5) to lead off the day. These two teams are familiar with one another, having played twice already this season. The teams split the previous games and Desoto head coach Zeb Hammond says the Dragons’ game plan will be familiar to the Hawks.

In game number two, the host and third seeded Central squares off with 14 seed Crystal City. The Rebels have only one blemish on their record this season losing to Eureka in the Gene Steighorst Championship game. The Rebels are coming off a big win over Valle Catholic a week ago and will look to get it going early against a Hornets Squad that put up 82 points in their most recent game.

For the Hornets, they face a lofty goal of knocking off a red host Central team that plays well together and score quickly. Crystal City sits at 1-3 on the season but gained some confidence getting a win last Tuesday  over St. Louis Patriots Sr 82-46. When they get rolling the Hornets can put up points in bunches.

The final game of the day pitches six seed Steelville against the eleventh seed Jefferson Blue Jays. The Cardinals have been impressive this year at 6-2 putting up an average of 70 points per game. They will look to continue their strong season locking up a spot in the quarterfinals with a win over Jefferson.

Jefferson hasn’t got a lot of action so far this season having some canceled due to COVID precautions. The Blue Jays will need to get into a rhythm early and rely on their defense. They have shown in two of their three games they can hold opponents under 50 points, and having that ability will leave the door open down the stretch.

Coverage begins at 5:15 on J98 form the T.J. Foulon Fieldhouse on the Campus of Central High School in Park Hills.