Braves hold top seed for conference tourney

~ Scott County Central will receive a bye in the first round of the Scott-Mississippi tournament.

The state-ranked Scott County Central boys basketball team has earned the top seed in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament and will receive a first-round bye when play begins today at Scott County.

The host Braves are 10-4 following a loss to Charleston on Friday. Scott County is ranked No. 5 in Class 1. Kelly topped the Braves in the conference finals last season.

Scott City is seeded second, followed by Oran, East Prairie, Kelly, Chaffee and Delta. The Rams will carry some momentum into the conference tournament following an upset win of Sikeston at home on Friday.

East Prairie and Kelly will meet at 6 p.m. tonight in the first of three first-round matches. The Rams will face Delta at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and Oran will meet Chaffee at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Semifinals will be played Thursday, and the finals are scheduled for Friday.

Notre Dame Shootout

For the second straight year, Incarnate Word will enter the Notre Dame Shootout as the top-ranked Class 5 girls team in the state.

This year, the host Bulldogs will get the unenviable challenge of facing the defending Class 5 state champion Red Knights. Incarnate is currently 12-1. Notre Dame, a Class 4 school, is 8-5. The squads will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Jackson, which fell to Incarnate last year at the Shootout, will face St. Charles at 6 p.m. in the Shootout finale. The Indians won their fourth straight Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic earlier this year. Jackson, which has won six of its last seven games, has losses this year against Illinois big-school power Belleville East, Berkeley -- the top-ranked team in Class 4 -- and state-ranked Lutheran South.

Central will open the day with a noon contest against Eureka. The Tigers fell to St. Charles in the event last year.

Other games include Dexter and Nerinx Hall at 1:30 p.m. and Poplar Bluff against Visitation at 3 p.m.

Grim to be honored

Long-time Notre Dame girls basketball coach Jerry Grim will be honored prior to the Bulldogs' varsity game against MICDS on Saturday, Jan. 27, as part of Jerry Grim Day.

In his 25th season, Grim has led the Bulldogs to 10 district titles, five state championship appearances and more than 430 wins. Notre Dame won its lone state title in 2002.

The junior varsity game will begin at 3:30 p.m., and Grim will be honored following the JV game. A reception will follow the varsity game.