South Iron, Fredericktown, Ellington, Lesterville Battle In AV Tourney Semis

(IRONTON, Mo.) – High school boys basketball makes its return to J-98 with the Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament semifinals Wednesday night. The top-seeded South Iron Panthers will take on the fifth-seeded Fredericktown Blackcats in the first matchup of the evening. South Iron earned a 94-35 victory over Bismarck Monday night to advance to the semifinal round, while Fredericktown knocked off the hosting Arcadia Valley Tigers 67-63 Tuesday night. These two teams played in the regular season last year, with the Panthers prevailing at home 59-49.

The second semifinal features a #2 vs. #3 matchup, as the Ellington Whippets face the Lesterville Bearcats. Ellington got past 7-seed West County 72-62 Monday night in the first round, improving to a 2-0 overall record. Whippets head coach Jeremy Peterson said his team has showcased some good guard play in the early-going.

Lesterville had a close battle with the 6-seed Clearwater in the first roun, but came out on top 81-77. Bearcats first-year head coach Anthony Caruso said he inherited a great group of players.

The Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament semifinals start off at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night on J-98. The Flieg’s Equipment Pregame Show will begin at 6:15 p.m.