Win or go home: Tri-County Conference Tournament begins next week

The Tri-County Conference Tournament is nearly upon us once again, and this year there is sure to be plenty of close competition.

While the bracket hasn't yet been decided, each and every team in contention, including Clarkton, Cooter, Delta C-7, Gideon, Holcomb, North Pemiscot, Risco and Southland, will have to fight ruthlessly to stay in the tournament every night.

Ask any coach in the conference and they'll likely echo the same words. In fact, there is a fairly likely scenario that there will be a three-way tie for the third seed.

If Clarkton comes out on top of their rescheduled conference matchup against Delta C-7 tonight, three teams will tie with a 4-3 conference record.

“I think that shows the parity and the competitiveness in the conference,” Clarkton head coach Cole McBroom said. “Delta C-7 and Risco are both as talented as any Class 1 team will play this year.”

Clarkton's Friday night matchup will be just as important as their opening night of the tournament, and McBroom explained that his team hasn't even discussed next week.

He said he's sure his players are “fired up” to head to Cooter, but their sole focus is on Delta C-7 in the wake of this week's winter storm postponements, of which the Reindeer have endured three in a row.

Clarkton�s James Johnson charges down court in the first half of last week�s game against Holcomb.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

One team stands above the rest going into the conference tournament, and that is Cooter. The Wildcats stand at an 18-2 record on the season and have locked in the No. 1 seed. They are also tied for 10th place in Class 2 in the most recent MBCA poll.

“Cooter is looking to win it,” McBroom said. “Holcomb will be the two seed and they do a lot of things really well. So whoever the three, four and five are, we'll have tough games from start to finish.”

Cooter will have the home court advantage as the hosts of the 2023 tournament, but seven other talented teams have their eyes fixed on an upset.

“I certainly think we're probably in the second tier, but we might be able to catch somebody on the right night for an upset,” McBroom said. “I think we're good enough to beat anybody in the conference, but we also could get beat by anyone in the conference if we're not ready to bring it every night.”

As the likely No. 2 seed, Holcomb has a 9-8 record going into the tournament. The Hornets have also taken down five of their conference opponents in the regular season.

Holcomb also has one more conference test before the tournament as the Hornets host Gideon Saturday at 4 p.m. However, the outcome of that game will likely not sway the outcome of the tournament seedings.

“Conference tournament is always a fun tournament and always has a great environment,” Holcomb head coach Michael Snider said. “This year the tournament is at Cooter and they have a great atmosphere. Tournament time means that records, seeds and the past goes out the window. It's win or go home, and that challenge is very fun.”

“We are looking forward to going down to Cooter and playing,” Snider continued. “We just hope that we can put a pretty good product on the floor.”