Saxony will defend MVC title this week

Defending champion Saxony Lutheran will try to make it two-for-two when the Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball tournament is played this week at Zalma.

The Crusaders won the tournament in their first year of varsity basketball last year, and they are seeded second this year with a 4-0 conference record heading into the tournament. Saxony Lutheran is 11-3 overall.

"We were fortunate to win this tournament last year," Saxony coach John Daniel said. "We have a first-round game against Zalma at Zalma, which concerns me greatly."

Third-seeded Oak Ridge will take on No. 6 Leopold in the tournament opener 6:30 tonight. Oak Ridge has won four straight and is 6-10 overall.

Other first-round games include No. 4 Chaffee against No. 5 Marquand at 5 p.m. Tuesday and Saxony Lutheran versus No. 7 Zalma at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Meadow Heights, the top seed, has a first round bye. The Panthers are 11-5 heading into the tournament.

The championship game will be at 9 p.m. on Friday.

Baseball poll

Two area teams made the preseason poll for the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Oran, coming off a second-place finish in the state tournament last season, is ranked No. 2 in Class 1. The Eagles have made the state final four the past three seasons with two straight runner-up finishes.

Kelly cracked the top 10 in Class 2 at No. 6. The Hawks bring back the nucleus of a squad that won its first district title since 1998.

Show Me Center doubleheader

Cape Girardeau's two high schools clash Tuesday with a doubleheader of high school basketball action between Central and Notre Dame at the Show Me Center.

The girls game will start at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow at 7:30.

Wrestle up a twinbill

Another doubleheader will take place Saturday at Jackson when the Central and Jackson wrestling teams take part in a double-dual meet with Poplar Bluff and Dexter. The meet begins at 5 p.m. Jackson and Central will not wrestle each other -- although they did last year when weather kept the other teams from traveling.

Central is coming off a sixth-place finish in its first trip to the Liberty Invitational, near Kansas City. Cory Huskey won the 160-pound division at the meet, while Josh Smoot was second in 140, and Ryan Davis was third at 189.

"I was happy with the way the kids wrestled," Central coach Josh Crowell said. "The format was different than we're used to and got to see some schools we don't get a chance to see. Hopefully, it will get us ready for state."

In the swim

The SEMO Conference swimming meet -- a three-team affair with Central, Notre Dame and Poplar Bluff -- is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff.

Central goes in as the meet favorite with three state-qualifying relays and two individuals -- Jason Mercer and Kris Metje -- headed to state in two events apiece.

The Tigers are coming off a sixth-place finish in an 18-team event in Springfield where Hunter Givens had two top-six finishes.

"It was a very fast meet, and we had some good times," Central coach Dayna Powell said. "We had some people who didn't place who dropped a lot of time, and some of our better swimmers didn't have their best times. We're hoping it all comes together at the conference meet."

More than Deason fuel

Kent Deason scored 15 points in the final period of Kelly's 69-62 home victory against Sikeston on Friday night. He finished the game with 21 points, tying his brother Kendal for the team lead in scoring.

Michael Glastetter added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks (12-5).

"People always talk about stopping the Deasons, but that's not always the case," said Kelly coach Cory Johnson, "because you've got a guy like Michael Glastetter that can step up and a guy like Derek Felter and Jordan Felter. I can't emphasize the total team effort tonight."

Felter had just seven points but grabbed 15 rebounds.

"Defensively, I thought we played an unbelievable ballgame," said Johnson. "Our intensity level on the defensive end was fantastic. We really forced them to take a lot of bad shots. We didn't let them get into their game -- they didn't get a lot of 3s like they're accustomed to doing. We rebounded once they got the shots off, and we took care of the basketball late when it mattered."

Defensive gem

Perryville won the Mayor's Cup over St. Vincent with a 54-40 victory Saturday night at the Perry Park Center. The Pirates clamped down on St. Vincent in the first half, limiting the team to eight points and holding high-scoring guard Alex Armbruster to two points in the half.

"Our game plan was basically for us to keep Armbruster from penetrating," Perryville coach Joel Roth said. "We did a really good job of that in the first half. Defensively holding them to eight points in the first half was key."

Armbruster finished with 15 for St. Vincent, which lost for the first time after a nine-game winning streak.

"We don't play well here," Valleroy said of the neutral site, which was packed with a standing-room-only crowd. "We don't play well against Perryville. They have our number."

Perryville won the girls game as well, with Amber Hacker (17 points) and Krista Meisner (12 points) leading the way.

"Our best play is our guard play," Perryville coach Vicki Lohmann said. "They weren't hitting shots in the first half, but they kept shooting the ball."

College notes

* Notre Dame graduate Ashley Millham recently put up 38 points in back-to-back games for the Central Missouri State women's basketball team. Millham, a sophomore, is averaging more than nine points a game for the 16-2 Jennies. Millham finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in a win over then-No. 1 Emporia State on Jan. 15. Lisa Millham, Ashley's sister and a junior at Central Missouri State, averages more than five points in a starting role.

* Central graduate Alex Wieser tied for the lead in scoring in a recent Quincy women's basketball win with 12 points on Jan. 22. Quincy is 12-7 this season. Wieser is third on the team in scoring, averaging 7.2 points off the bench. Notre Dame graduate Deana McCormick is fourth in scoring, averaging 6.6 points in a reserve role.