HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TO TAKE AREA BY STORM WITH EARLY TOURNAMENTS

The area high school basketball season tipped off last week with a few appetizers.

This week, main courses will abound as the local prep hoop campaign gets going in earnest with a host of traditional early-season tournaments, led by boys tourneys at Oran and Woodland that have been going on for some time.

Also, the I-55 classic, played at both Scott City and North Pemiscot, is only a few years old but is fast turning into one of the better early season boys events in Southeast Missouri.

Farmington will host its annual tournament for boys and girls while Cape Girardeau Central's girls will compete in a small round-robin event at Oakville in the St. Louis area.

In addition, this is the week for the opening act of the annual two-part battle between Cape Girardeau rivals Central and Notre Dame. The boys teams from those schools square off Tuesday night at Central.

Following is a rundown of the pairings for the tourneys that will be played around the area this week.

Oran TournamentKelly is the defending champion but the Hawks, who were hit heavily by graduation, are only seeded fourth out of seven teams.

Twin Rivers is the No. 1 seed (and earned a first-round bye), followed by Scott County Central, Gideon, Kelly, Oran, Richland and Bell City.

There will be two first-round games Monday as Scott Central plays Bell City at 6:30 p.m. and Gideon faces Richland at 8. The opening round concludes Tuesday when Kelly battles Oran at 8 p.m.

The semifinals will be held Thursday night, at 6:30 and 8. The finals will be Friday, with the consolation final at 5:30 p.m., the third-place game at 7 and the championship battle at 8:30.

Woodland TournamentWoodland won its own tournament last year and the Cardinals are considered prime contenders again, but the role of favorite goes to Advance, which earned the No. 1 seed for the eight-team event, just ahead of Woodland.

Leopold is seeded third, followed by Delta, Bloomfield, Meadow Heights, Oak Ridge and Zalma.

Three first-round games will be played Monday: Advance vs. Zalma at 5:30 p.m., Delta vs. Bloomfield at 7 and Woodland vs. Oak Ridge at 8:30. The final first-round game will be Tuesday when Leopold plays Meadow Heights at 6:30 p.m.

The semifinals are set for Thursday night, at 7 and 8:30 while the finals are Friday, with the consolation game at 5:30 p.m., the third-place contest at 7 and the championship matchup at 8:30.

I-55 ClassicThis unique eight-team tournament, which utilizes two sites until the finals, was won by Scott City last season and the Rams who have compiled an amazing 108-15 record over the past four years should be prime contenders again as they are seeded first among four teams at their site.

St. Vincent is seeded second at the Scott City site, with Poplar Bluff's JV third and East Prairie fourth. Senath-Hornersville is the No. 1 seed for the North Pemiscot site, followed by South Pemiscot, North Pemiscot and Delta C-7.

At Scott City, the first round will be Thursday night, Scott City facing East Prairie at 6 and St. Vincent playing Poplar Bluff's JV at 7:30. The semifinal will be Friday at 7:30 p.m.

At North Pemiscot, the opening round will be Tuesday night, Senath playing Delta C-7 at 6 and South Pemiscot facing North Pemiscot at 7:30. The semifinal will be Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The finals will be Saturday at North Pemiscot, with the seventh-place game at 4 p.m., the consolation final at 5:30, the third-place contest at 7 and the championship battle at 8:30.

Farmington TournamentBoth Jackson teams captured titles last season, but neither is favored to prevail this time in the six-team events.

On the girls side, Jackson -- which has had an unbelievable run of success in the 1990s -- is seeded second behind Farmington. Fredericktown is third, followed by Park Hills Central, North County and Potosi.

On the boys side, Jackson is seeded third, behind No. 2 North County and No. 1 Farmington. Park Hills Central is fourth, followed by Fredericktown and Potosi.

First-round girls games will be played Monday, Park Hills Central facing North County at 5:30 p.m. and Fredericktown taking on Potosi at 7.

Farmington and Jackson receive byes into the semifinals, set for 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 Tuesday. The consolation final will be Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., the third-place game will be Thursday at 8:30 p.m. and the championship contest will be Friday at 6:30 p.m..The first-round boys games will feature Park Hills Central vs. Fredericktown at 8:30 p.m. Monday and Jackson vs. Potosi at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Farmington and North County receive byes into the semifinals, set for 7 p.m. and 8:30 Wednesday. The consolation final and third-place game will be at 5:30 p.m. and 7 Thursday, with the championship matchup set for 8 p.m. Friday.

Oakville TournamentCape Central's girls will be joined in this four-team, round robin event by host Oakville, Fox and Francis Howell. The varsity and JV squads will each participate against the same schedule.

The Lady Tigers play all three of their games at 5:30 p.m., facing Fox Monday, Oakville Tuesday and Francis Howell Thursday.