SEVERAL HOOP TOURNAMENTS ON AREA SLATE

The University High School Christmas Tournament isn't the only traditional holiday boys basketball tournament that will be played in Southeast Missouri.

Sixteen teams will gather in Bloomfield for that school's 42nd annual Christmas tourney. Doniphan is the No. 1 seed, with Dexter second, Kennett third and Portageville fourth.

Bernie is seeded fifth, followed by East Carter County, South Pemiscot, Twin Rivers, Malden, Hayti, Greenville, Puxico, Van Buren, Richland, Bloomfield and East Prairie.

Eight first-round games will be played today: Doniphan vs. East Prairie (9:30 a.m.), Dexter vs. Bloomfield (11), Kennett vs. Richland (12:30 p.m.), Portageville vs. Van Buren (2), Bernie vs. Puxico (4), East Carter vs. Greenville (5:30), South Pemiscot vs. Hayti (7) and Twin Rivers vs. Malden (8:30).

There will also be eight games Monday, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The semifinal round, beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, will feature six games, including the championship semifinals at 7 and 8:30 p.m.

The tournament will conclude Wednesday with the four finals games, starting with the consolation final at 4 p.m. The fifth-place game will be at 5:30, with the third-place contest at 7 and the championship matchup at 8:30.

* Perryville, St. Vincent and Zalma will be part of the six-team Ste. Genevieve Christmas Classic that begins today.

Other squads entered are Herculaneum, Valle and the host school. The event will feature pool play through Tuesday, with the finals set for Wednesday.

Zalma plays Valle at 6 p.m. today. Zalma plays St. Vincent at 6 p.m. Monday, followed by Perryville vs. Ste. Genevieve at 7:30. Tuesday, it's Perryville vs. Herculaneum at 6 p.m. and St. Vincent vs. Valle at 7:30.

Wednesday, the consolation game will be at 5 p.m., followed by third place at 6:30 and the championship at 8.

* Marquand and Fredericktown are in the field for the 16-team Park Hills Central Christmas Tournament that tips off Monday.

Fredericktown plays Potosi at 11:30 a.m. while Marquand faces Lutheran South at 5:30 p.m.

There will be more games Tuesday and Wednesday, with the finals set for 8 p.m. Thursday.

* The 12th annual Poplar Bluff Showdown will be played Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Eight schools from six states are involved.

Monday's first-round schedule: Little Rock (Ark.) McClellan vs. Hardin Central (Ky.), 4 p.m.; New Madrid vs. Kennesaw (Ga.), 5:30; Poplar Bluff vs. North Atlanta (Ga.), 7; Christian County (Ky.) vs. El Reno (Okla.), 8:30.

The semifinals are set for 7 p.m. and 8:30 Tuesday, with the championship at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.