SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI, STODDARD TOURNEYS ON TAP

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- A pair of conference boys basketball tournaments will be held this week, the Scott-Mississippi tourney at Chaffee High School and the Stoddard County tournament at Bloomfield.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Scott County Central is the top seed and heavy favorite to claim Scott-Mississippi honors. The undefeated Braves are 15-0.

Scott City, the only other team in the tournament with a winning record, is seeded second. The Rams are 7-6.

Kelly (6-8) is seeded third, Delta (6-7) fourth), Oran (6-8) fifth, Oak Ridge (3-9) sixth, East Prairie (1-9) seventh and Chaffee (2-10) eighth.

Two first-round games will be played Monday and Tuesday nights.

Scott Central faces Chaffee at 7 and Delta meets Oran at 8:30 Monday night.

Tuesday night, it's Kelly vs. Oak Ridge at 7 and Scott City vs. East Prairie at 8:30.

One semifinal will be held Wednesday at 8:30 with the other semifinal set for Thursday at 7. The finals are Friday night at 8.

Also held in Chaffee will be the junior varsity portion of the Scott-Miss tournament. The finals in that division will be at 6:30 Friday.

Dexter is seeded first for the Stoddard County meet. Bernie is the No. 2 seed. Those two teams met in an exciting game Friday night, with Dexter winning 75-71. The Bearcats are 11-1 and the Mules 12-4

Richland (12-5) is seeded third, Bell City (8-7) fourth, Woodland (9-6) fifth, Advance (7-9) sixth, Puxico (4-9) seventh and Bloomfield (2-12) eighth.

The first round will be spread over three days because JV tournament action is also going on at Bloomfield.

Bell City plays Woodland at 7 Monday; Dexter takes on Bloomfield at 8:30 Tuesday; Bernie faces Puxico at 7 Wednesday; and Richland plays Advance at 8:30 Wednesday.

Richland and Advance meet in a rematch of Friday night's contest that saw Advance surprise the Rebels on their own court.

The semifinals will be held Thursday night at 7 and 8:30.

Action will conclude Friday night. The third-place game is scheduled for 6 and the championship contest for 9.

In the JV division, the third-place game is slated for 4:30 and the final for 7:30.