Rogers captures Holiday Tourney in double-overtime

ROLLA – For sure, the fans got their money’s worth on the final day of competition of the boys’ basketball US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 29.

On Saturday two of the four contests went into overtime and a third was a two-point finish. That included the championship game, which proved to be one of the most exciting in the 22 years of the event.

In a double-overtime thriller Rogers (Ark.) regained the Holiday Invitational championship by clipping defending champion Waynesville 53-52 in the title game.

It was the third consecutive year that Rogers advanced to the tournament title game. The Rogers Mountaineers won the crown in 2005 and lost to Waynesville in 2006.

Also on Saturday St. Joseph Lafayette stopped Salem 55-45 in the third-place game; Festus clipped Rolla 65-63 in the fifth-place game, and Springdale (Ark.) Har-Ber knocked off St. James 59-52 in overtime.

The Rogers Mountaineers and Waynesville Tigers capped off a fine tourney with a tight, double-OT championship game. The game featured 12 lead changes and five ties.

A layup by Rogers’ 6-7 junior forward Aaron Hawley at the 4:58 mark gave the Mountaineers their largest lead of the fourth period, 34-28. Seven unanswered Tiger points followed. And a three-point play from 6-2 senior forward L.J. Fort with 3:15 left in regulation gave Waynesville a 35-34 edge.

The game was tied at 39 inside the final minute of regulation. And after a Rogers 10-second backcourt violation with :45 left Fort was fouled at the :15 mark. Fort, who had struggled at the free throw line in the early season, including a 2-for-11 performance in the tourney’s first-round game, was fouled. Fort canned both free throws to give WHS a two-point edge.

After a time out the Mountaineers worked the ball into Hawley, who canned a 15-foot turnaround jumper with :02 remaining. Waynesville’s Chris Rebuck missed a halfcourt heave at the buzzer and the title game went into overtime.

Each team scored but two points in the first extra period. With Rogers leading by two points, the Mountaineers’ 5-8 senior guard Ronyae Samuels was sent to the free throw line with :31 left. However, Samuels missed both free throws. Waynesville rebounded and Rebuck, a 6-5 senior forward, was fouled with :10 left. Rebuck hit both ends of the one-and-one to tie the game at 43.

Before time expired in the first overtime Rogers got behind the Tiger defense on the ensuing inbounds play after Rebuck’s free throws. Rogers’ Jordon Ganoung found himself with the ball under the basket for a wide-open layup attempt. However, his rushed shot was off the mark at the buzzer, forcing a second extra period.

In the second overtime Hawley hit two free throws with 2:52 left in the period and Rogers led the rest of the way. Rogers hit 5-of-6 from the free throw line to open the second overtime scoring and take a 48-43 edge.

With Rogers holding a five-point lead Fort was fouled with :30 left. Fort hit two free shots to cut the Tiger deficit to three. After Rogers went 1-for-2 t the free throw line at the :26 mark Rebuck grabbed an offensive rebound and scored the put-back to make it a two-point game, 52-50. On the play Fort was elbowed in the face, which caused a cut above an eye, forcing him out for the rest of the game.

Rogers’ Cody Lay, a 6-4 senior guard, was fouled with :10 left and hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 53-50. Waynesville roared up court, put up a shot which missed and 6-3 senior forward Marel Respress scored on a put-back with :02 remaining. WHS was out of time outs, however, and time expired.

Hawley paced Rogers, now 11-2, with 21 points.

Rebuck tallied 12 points while Fort – who was 7-for-7 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter on – and senior guard T.R. Raines each had 11 points for Waynesville, 9-2 and ranked No. 8 in the Missouri Class 5 state poll.

The individual scoring:

Waynesville (52) – Bales 1-0-2, Raines 4-1-11, Fort 2-7-11, Respress 2-0-4, Rebuck 3-5-12, Patton 1-0-2, Long 5-0-10.

Rogers (53) – Samuels 2-0-4, Smeltzer 3-1-9, Lay 3-1-7, Ganoung 2-3-7, Caton 1-2-4, Hawley 7-7-21, Davidson 0-1-1, Totals 18-15-53.

Possibly still reeling from a tough loss to Waynesville in the semifinals the previous night, the Salem Tigers trailed throughout most of the final three periods.

The game was tied at 14 after the first period. However, the Lafayette Irish outscored Salem 14-9 in the second period. Salem cut its deficit to four, 42-28, entering the final period.

In the fourth quarter the Tigers simply couldn’t generate enough offense to mount a comeback. The Irish outscored Salem 13-7 in the final period.

Derrick Williams, a 6-3 senior forward, had 15 points to lead the Irish, now 7-3, while 5-10 senior guard Bryce McCrary added 12 points.

Taylor Sirois, a 6-4 senior, and 6-0 junior Cody Wofford each had 12 points for Salem, now 7-4.

The individual scoring:

Salem (45) – Sirois 5-2-12, Wofford 5-2-12, Smith 1-4-7, Oliver 2-0-4, Pitchford 3-0-6, Z. Moser 1-0-2, Heithold 1-0-2, Totals 18-8-45.

Lafayette (55) – D. Williams 7-1-15, McCrary 4-2-12, Page 4-0-8, Josh Davis 3-0-6, B. Williams 2-0-5, Goodwin 2-1-5, Jake Davis 1-0-2, Deayon 0-2-2, Totals 23-6-55.

Poor starts to the first and fourth quarters came back to burn host Rolla.

The Festus Tigers fired out to a 12-point led in the first quarter. A three-point field goal from the top of the key by 6-4 senior guard Myles Becquette at the 1:50 mark of the first period gave Festus a 18-6 lead. A three-pointer by 6-3 junior guard Seth Thomas and a 15-footer by 6-3 senior forward Andy Hall helped Rolla cut its deficit to 18-11 entering the second quarter.

After a three-point play and layup by Festus to start the second period and increase the Tiger lead back to 12, Rolla reeled off 11 unanswered points. A 12-footer by 5-11 junior guard Tyler Sinnott hit a 12-footer with 2:10 left in the first half to cut the Festus led to one, 23-22. The Bulldogs missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw with :06 left and went into halftime trailing 25-24.

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the second half when 6-1 junior guard Ben Stickler tipped in a missed shot to make it 32-31.

The Tigers reeled off six unanswered points to regain a five-pont edge. Festus’ largest third-quarter lead was seven points. Becquette netted 15 points in the third period. His free throw at the :27 mark ended the quarter’s scoring and the Tigers led 48-45 going into the fourth period.

Festus outscored Rolla 9-3 to start the fourth period. Becquette’s two free throws at the 3:39 mark gave the Tigers a 57-48 edge.

Rolla then went on a 15-4 run over the next 2:32 to take the lead.. A three-point field goal by 6-1 junior guard Andrew Chism at the 1:00 mark gave Rolla a 62-61 advantage. A free throw by Stickler four seconds later made it 63-61.

Over the next 14 seconds the Bulldogs missed four free throws. That proved costly, as Becquette followed with a three-pointer to hand the Tigers a 64-63 edge.

Rolla came up court and Sinnott drove in the lane, but his shot was off the mark and Festus’ Jeff Davis was fouled. Davis hit one of two free throws to make it 65-63 with :07 left. After Davis missed the second free throw Rolla’s 6-4 junior forward Dalton Friend rebounded to start a fast-break. Friend took the final pass and fired up a jumper around the free throw line. The shot rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.

Sinnott led Rolla, now 5-6, with 18 points while Chism added 15 and Stickler and Thomas each had 11.

Becquette erupted for a game-high 35 points to lead Festus, 6-4.

"We had every opportunity to win that game," said RHS head coach Kent Thomas. "One of these times we’re going to get this type of game and seal a win.

"The way we’ve got to play, we’ve got to knock down those shots, some of them at the free throw line. We’ve just got to get a couple of those down in key spots and then we’ll be fine."

Rolla is scheduled to play at Union in a non-conference game on Friday, Jan. 4.

The individual scoring:

Rolla (63) – Sinnott 7-4-18, Chism 5-2-15, Otte 1-0-2, Hall 2-0-4, Stickler 5-0-11, Friend 1-0-2, Thomas 4-0-11, Totals 25-6-63.

Festus (65) – Bequette 12-9-35, Wilkey 3-2-13, Davis 0-3-3, Kopp 1-0-2, Bey 1-0-2, Roberts 2-3-7, Stubbs 1-1-3, Totals 20-18-65.

The struggling St. James Tigers dropped their eighth consecutive game.

It looked like the Tigers were going to end the win drought, as they surged to a big early lead. The Har-Ber Wildcats led 11-9 after the first period. However, St. James outscored Har-Ber 14-7 in the second period, taking as much as a 15-point lead. The Tigers went into halftime up 32-29.

St. James took a 36-30 lead into the fourth period.

However, Her-Ber outscored the Tigers 18-12 in the fourth period to tie the game at 48 and force overtime.

St. James never led in the extra period. With a one-point lead, the Wildcats reeled off six unanswered points, and two free throws by junior guard Mason Clinkscales with :34 left gave them a seven-point advantage.

Four players scored in double figures for Har-Ber, now 7-5, led by 5-10 junior guard Taylor Sites.

Jon Connell, a 6-4 sophomore forward, had 16 points while 6-2 sophomore guard Chase Ford added 11 for St. James, now 2-8.

St. James is scheduled to play again Jan. 8 at Steelville in non-league play.

The individual scoring:

St. James (52) – Stowers 0-4-4, Taft 0-2-2, Thomas 2-3-7, Kearbey 3-3-10, Luebbert 1-0-2, Connell 3-10-16, Ford 3-3-11, Totals 12-25-52.

Har-Ber (59) – Clinkscales 2-5-10, Coulter 1-0-3, Payton 0-1-1, Tyson 2-5-10, Lane 4-2-10, Sites 5-0-12, Perry 3-2-9, Granata 2-0-4, Totals 19-15-59.

Rogers’ Hawley was named the tournament’s MVP.

Also named to the all-tournament team were Becquette of Festus; Lay of Rogers; 6-5 senior forward Domonique Long of Waynesville; Rebuck of Waynesville; Sirois of Salem; C.J. Smith of Salem, and Bryston Williams of Lafayette.

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It’s again Waynesville vs. Rogers in Tourney finals

ROLLA – History repeats itself.

For the second consecutive year it will be the Waynesville and Rogers (Ark.) high school boys’ basketball teams battling it out for the US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational championship.

Waynesville and Rogers advanced to the tournament’s title game by posting semifinal victories on Friday, Dec. 28 at the Rolla High School gym. Last year Waynesville knocked off Rogers 54-48.

In Friday’s semifinals Waynesville held off a strong charge by Salem 71-64 while Rogers stopped St. Joseph Lafayette 60-43.

In consolation games on Friday Rolla whipped St. James 72-38 and Festus hammered Springdale (Ark.) Har-Ber 56-32.

In games Saturday, Dec. 29 St. James meets Har-Ber at 3 p.m. in the seventh-place game, Festus faces Rolla at 4:30 p.m. in the fifth-place game, Salem takes on Lafayette at 6 p.m. in the third-place game and Waynesville meets Rogers at 7:30 p.m. in the championship contest.

Waynesville had its hands full in holding off Salem Waynesville, ranked No. 8 in the Missouri Class 5 state poll, improves to 9-1 while Salem falls to 7-3.

On Friday Salem started off by scoring the game’s first seven points. A driving layup by 6-0 junior Cody Wofford at the 6:45 mark gave Salem a 7-0 edge. WHS trimmed its deficit to 19-16 when 6-5 senior forward Domonique Long tipped in a missed free throw at the buzzer.

Waynesville began the second period outscoring Salem 9-2. A pair of free throws by 6-7 junior center Robert Childress with 5:18 left in the half gave WHS its first lead of the game, 25-23.

WHS pulled out to as much as a seven-point lead later in the second period. Long’s free throw at the 2:06 mark gave Waynesville a 32-25 edge.

However, Salem ended the half strong, and a pair of free throws by 6-4 senior forward Taylor Sirois with :08 left cut the Salem halftime deficit to 34-32.

The lead would change hands seven times and there was one tie in the competitive second half. A layup by 6-2 senior forward L.J. Fort to end the third period gave Waynesville a 54-46 lead, and a driving layup by 6-3 junior guard B.J. Ray to open the fourth-period scoring upped the

WHS advantage to double-digits for the first time, 56-46.

That lead would not last, however, as a 9-0 run allowed Salem to regain the advantage. A basket by Sirois at the 3:09 mark gave Salem a 60-59 edge.

Long immediately followed with a jumper of his own to give Waynesville back the advantage, and WHS would lead the rest of the game. A slam dunk by Long after a Salem turnover inside the final minute of play made it 70-62 to ice things.

Long scored a game-high 28 points for WHS while grabbing eight rebounds. Also for Waynesville 6-2 senior forward Marel Respress had 11 points; 6-2 senior forward L.J. Fort five rebounds and four assists, and 6-5 senior forward Chris Rebuck five assists. WHS shot 57 percent from the field.

C.J. Smith, a 6-1 junior, led Salem with 18 points while Sirois added 17 and 6-1 junior Zach Pitchford 12.

The individual scoring:

Waynesville (71) – Long 11-5-28, Respress 4-3-11, Ray 3-1-7, Rebuck 1-4-6, Childress 2-2-6, Bales 2-0-4, Fort 2-0-4, Patton 1-0-2, Raines 1-0-2, Wilson 0-1-1, Totals 27-16-71.

Salem (64) – Smith 7-2-18, Sirois 5-7-17, Pitchford 5-1-12, Wofford 4-0-8, Oliver 2-0-4, Z. Moser 1-0-3, Heithold 1-0-2, Totals 25-10-64.

Keyed by a strong start from Hawley, a 6-7 junior forward, Rogers topped the Lafayette Irish.

Hawley fired in 13 points in the first half, as the Mountaineers took a 15-12 lead after the first period and a 27-22 halftime edge.

Hawley and Lay, a 6-4 senior guard, each tallied eight points in the third period to help Rogers outscore the Irish 18-6 in the quarter and go into the fourth quarter up 45-28. There would be no comeback, as Rogers hit 9-of-11 free throw attempts in the final period.

Hawley finished with a game-high 23 points for Rogers, now 10-2, while Lay added 18 points.

Josh Davis netted 12 points for Lafayette, 6-3.

The individual scoring:

Rogers (60) – Samuels 3-2-8, Smeltzer 1-1-3, Lay 5-8-18, Ganoung 2-4-8, Hawley 11-0-23.

Lafayette (43) – Jake Davis 3-1-7, McCrary 1-0-3, Deayon 2-0-4, D. Williams 4-0-8, Josh Davis 6-0-12, Lehman 2-0-4, Ritter 2-0-5, Totals 20-1-43.

Fast starts to each half was enough for Rolla to stop struggling St. James.

Rolla, 5-5, reeled off the game’s first 14 points, rattling St. James with a pressing defense. A three-point field goal by 6-3 sophomore guard Seth Thomas at the 3:49 mark of the first period gave Rolla a 14-0 lead.

After a free throw ended the Tiger drought at the 2:36 mark four RHS free throws followed. And a pair of free shots by 6-3 senior forward Andy Hall with 2:21 left gave Rolla its largest lead of the first period, 18-1. Rolla led 22-7 entering the second period.

After two free throws put Rolla’s lead back to 17 to open the second period the St. James Tigers went on a 12-0 run. A 10-foot jumper off the right baseline by 5-10 sophomore Cody Taft with 4:40 remaining in the first half cut the Tiger deficit to five, 24-19.

A free throw by junior guard Cameron Fore with :56 left upped the Rolla edge back to 10, 32-22. However, St. James tallied the final four points of the half. A conventional three-point play by 6-2 sophomore guard

Chase Ford followed by a free throw by Taft with :24 left cut the St. James halftime deficit to six, 32-26.

Rolla streaked again to start the second half and this time put the game away. The Bulldogs outscored St. James 28-8 in the third period. Tyler Sinnott, a 5-11 junior guard, tallied 15 points in the third period to key the Bulldog surge. RHS fired in a three-pointer to end the

third-period scoring and take a 60-34 bulge into the fourth period.

The Bulldog lead was in the 30s most of the final period.

Sinnott led a balanced Rolla attack with 15 points while 5-9 sophomore guard Gavin Otte and Hall each had 13 points.

Ford tallied 16 points for St. James, 2-7.

The individual scoring:

Rolla (72) – Sinnott 7-0-15, Chism 2-2-6, Otte 4-4-13, Hall 4-5-13, Stickler 2-2-6, Bowe 3-0-8, Fore 1-1-4, Thomas 1-4-7, Totals 24-18-72.

St. James (38) – Taft 3-2-8, Thomas 1-1-3, Kearbey 2-1-5, Connell 2-0-4, Ford 6-2-16, Mead 1-0-2, Totals 15-6-38.

The Springdale Har-Ber Wildcats got off to a sluggish start and couldn’t recover. Festus, now 5-4, jumped out to a 10-3 advantage after the first period and never trailed. The Festus Tigers upped their lead to 21-13 by halftime and limited the Wildcats to seven third-quarter points and took a 34-20 edge into the fourth period. A 22-point fourth quarter allowed Festus to hang on.

Cody Roberts, a 6-2 sophomore, had 12 points while 6-4 senior Myles Becquette added 11 for Festus.

Taylor Sites, a 5-10 junior, led Har-Ber with 14 points.

The individual scoring:

Festus (56) – Becquette 3-5-11, Bone 1-0-2, Wilkey 1-4-7, Kopp 1-2-4, Davis 2-2-7, Bey 1-2-4, Boyer 0-2-2, Roberts 5-2-12, Stubbs 3-1-7, Totals 17-20-56.

Har-Ber (32) – Clinkscales 1-0-3, Tyson 3-0-7, Lane 0-1-1, Sites 5-3-14, Perry 1-2-4, Granata 0-1-1, Rijcken 1-0-2, Totals 11-7-32.

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‘Dogs drop big early lead; fall in 1st round of tourney

ROLLA – The name of the game is defense.

And Rolla High School boys’ basketball head coach Kent Thomas said the Bulldogs didn’t play enough of it during a first-round defeat in the US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational Thursday, Dec. 27 at the RHS gym.

Rolla wasted a big early lead, watching the St. Joseph Lafayette Irish rally from behind to post a 78-68 first-round victory.

In other first-round games Thursday, it was Waynesville 58, Festus 50; Salem 55, Springdale Har-Ber (Ark.) 52, and Rogers (Ark) 47, St. James 23.

In action Friday, Dec. 28 Festus is to play Har-Ber at 4 p.m. and Rolla takes on St. James at 5:30 p.m. in consolation action while Waynesville faces Salem at 7 p.m. and Rogers meets Lafayette at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals.

On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

The host Rolla Bulldogs could not hold on after a huge start to the game. Rolla, now 4-5, went on a 15-0 run late in the first period. And a three-point field goal by 6-1 junior guard Andrew Chism at the 1:28 mark of the opening quarter gave Rolla its largest lead, 22-6.

The Lafayette Irish converted two straight three-pointers to end the period and cut their deficit to 10. In all the final five field goals made in the first quarter by the two teams were three-pointers.

The Bulldogs’ lead held at nine points three minutes into the second period. However, in the final 4:42 of the first half Lafayette outscored Rolla 11-4. A free throw cut the Irish deficit to one point, 33-32 with 2:10 left. Only one free throw – by Rolla – was scored the rest of the

half and the Bulldogs took a 34-32 advantage into intermission.

Lafayette, 6-2, opened the third period with a 14-7 run. And a five-foot jumper by Jake Davis with 3:05 remaining in the quarter gave the Irish a 46-41 edge.

The Irish would lead the rest of the period, although a layup by 6-0 junior guard Chris Bowe cut the Rolla deficit to one, 51-50, with :55 left. Lafayette took a 54-50 edge into the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs trailed the entire fourth period. A short jumper by 6-1 junior Bryston Williams at the 3:30 mark gave Lafayette a 13-point bulge, 67-54. And a put-back by 6-3 senior Derrick Williams off a missed free throw with 1:32 remaining gave the Irish their largest advantage of

the game, 74-59. The Irish kept a double-figure lead the rest of the way.

"The story of the game for us was defense," Thomas said. "I don’t think we guarded well in half-court. You’re going to have some shooting inconsistencies. But you’ve got to hang in there and give yourself a chance. We gave them too many opportunities."

Thomas said the Bulldogs felt they had a chance to come back even inside the final minute of play. "We’ve had spurtability...if that’s a word," Thomas said. "Nine or 10 points down with two minutes to go; that’s not too much for us. We just couldn’t get things going offensively."

Junior guard Tyler Sinnott netted 19 points and 6-3 junior forward Dalton Friend added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

B. Williams fired in 19 points while 5-10 sophomore Taylor Deayon added 14 and Jake Davis 10 for Lafayette.

The individual scoring:

Rolla (68) – Sinnott 7-5-19, Chism 2-0-6, Otte 2-1-6, Hall 1-3-5, Stickler 4-0-8, Friend 4-1-10, Bowe 2-0-5, Fore 2-0-6, Thomas 1-0-3, Totals 25-10-68.

Lafayette (78) – Jake Davis 4-0-10, Page 3-0-6, B. Williams 8-2-19, McCrary 1-0-3, Goodwin 3-3-9, Deayon 3-8-14, Miller 1-0-3, D. Williams 3-2-8, Josh Davis 3-0-6, Totals 29-15-78.

The Waynesville High School boys’ basketball team opened defense of its US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational by stopping Festus. But not with struggles.

A cool shooting night for Waynesville kept the game close throughout. WHS committed 16 turnovers, hit just 21-of-51 shots from the field and 8-for-21 from the free throw line.

The lead changed hands eight times and there were five ties in the see-saw first half. Waynesville’s largest lead of the first half came at the 2:20 mark of the first period when senior guard T.R. Raines hit a fast-break layup to make it 12-8.

A 25-foot jumper at the buzzer from Festus’ 6-4 senior guard Myles Becquette to end the first period tied the game at 14.

The biggest lead either team had in the second period was three points. Festus’ 6-2 sophomore Cody Roberts hit a jumper at the 1:13 mark to give Festus a 28-27 halftime edge.

Waynesville reeled off 10 unanswered points to open the second half. A layup by 6-3 junior guard B.J. Ray at the 4:09 mark of the third quarter gave WHS a 37-28 lead.

However, the Festus Tigers went on a 11-5 run to end the period. A three-pointer by 5-10 junior Alex Wilkey to end the third period cut the WHS edge to three, 42-39, entering the fourth period.

Waynesville held the lead throughout the fourth quarter, although WHS could not pull away.

Ray’s two free throws at the 2:00 mark gave Waynesville its largest lead of the second half, 53-43. Waynesville would lead by at least eight points the rest of the way, as WHS created several turnovers off full-court pressure.

Domonique Long, a 6-5 senior forward, netted 19 points – 12 in the first half – and grabbed 10 rebounds for WHS while 6-2 senior forward L.J. Fort had 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Becquette scored a game-high 20 points to pace Festus, which falls to 4-4.

The individual scoring:

Waynesville (58) – Raines 4-1-9, Fort 4-2-10, Respress 3-1-7, Ray 1-2-4, Rebuck 3-0-7, Patton 1-0-2, Long 7-2-19, Totals 23-8-58.

Festus (50) – Becquette 5-9-20, Bone 1-1-3, Wilkey 3-0-7, Davis 2-0-6, Roberts 3-0-6, Stubbs 4-0-8, Totals 18-10-50.

The Salem Tigers outscored the Har-Ber Wildcats 16-11 in the fourth period to come from behind and post the win.

Salem, now 7-2, took a 15-12 lead after the first period. However, behind the scoring of 5-10 junior guard Taylor Sites Har-Ber tied the score up at 29 by intermission.

The Wildcats, who finished runner-up in the Arkansas Class 7A State Tournament last season, took a 41-39 edge into the fourth period.

With the Tigers leading by three in the final seconds of the fourth quarter the Wildcats worked the ball to Sites, who got off a 25-foot jumper at the buzzer. The short fell short, however, sealing the Tiger win.

C.J. Smith, a 6-1 junior, and 6-4 senior Taylor Sirois led a balanced Salem attack with 14 points apiece while 6-1 junior Zach Pitchford added 10.

Sites canned five 3-point field goals on his way to a game-high 25 points for the Wildcats, now 6-4.

The individual scoring:

Salem (55) – Oliver 1-0-2, Z. Moser 2-2-6, Smith 4-5-14, Wofford 3-2-8, Pitchford 4-0-10, Sirois 4-6-14, Loker 0-1-1, Totals 18-16-55.

Har-Ber (52) – Park 1-0-2, Tyson 5-1-11, Lane 5-0-10, Sites 10-0-25, Granata 2-0-4, Totals 23-1-52.

The Rogers Mountaineers clamped down the defense on the St. James Tigers in a low-scoring first-round finale. Rogers clung to a 9-7 edge. St. James led, 15-14, late in the first half before a slew of turnovers allowed Rogers to end the half strong. The Mountaineers ended up outscoring St. James 17-10 in the period and took a 26-17 advantage into halftime.

The Tiger offense produced just three field goals after intermission, allowing Rogers to keep its lead.

Aaron Hawley, a 6-7 junior, netted 19 points to lead the Mountaineers, now 9-2, while 6-4 senior Cody Lay added 12 points.

It was the sixth straight loss for St. James, now 2-6.

The individual scoring:

Rogers (47) – Samuels 1-1-4, Smeltzer 1-0-3, Lay 5-2-12, Ganoung 2-0-5, Hawley 9-1-19, Davidson 0-2-2, Price 0-2-2, 18-8-47.

St. James (23) – Thomas 2-0-4, Kearbey 2-0-5, Connell 3-0-6, Ford 2-0-6, Mead 0-2-2, Totals 9-2-23.

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St. James looking to jell in Holiday Invitational

ROLLA - The past few games for the St. James High School boys’ basketball team have not been kind.

And the Tigers are hoping the strong field for the US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational will be a tonic that can end a five-game losing streak.

The 22^nd annual US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational is scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29 at the Rolla High School gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools are Festus and St. Joseph Lafayette from Missouri as well as Arkansas schools Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces St. Joseph Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

Ben Smith, in his fifth season as St. James boys’ basketball head coach, was well-pleased with the way the Tigers started this season. St. James flew out of the gate by winning its first two games, over Potosi and Dixon.

However, following have been a pair of losses in the Farmington Tournament and regular-season defeats to rivals Rolla, Sullivan and Owensville.

"We were real pleased with the way we started off the first two games," Smith said. "But we’ve been in kind of a funk lately. We’re trying to learn how to win games against good competition. We’re learning, but it takes time because we are young."

The 2-5 Tigers are coming off a 10-15 campaign from 2006-07. Back from that squad includes two starters – 6-2 senior forward Damon Thomas and 6-2 sophomore guard Chase Ford.

Other starters for St. James so far this season have been 6-4 junior forward Chris Kearbey, 6-4 sophomore forward Jon Cannell and 5-8 junior guard Kaleb Stowers.

Kearbey has led the Tigers in scoring, averaging 13 points per game. Ford is averaging nine points and Thomas seven points and eight rebounds.

Smith says the Tigers must get more action against top-flight competition in order to improve. He’ll get that chance in Rolla.

"It’s just one of those things; we’ve got to go in not worrying about what other teams are doing," he said. "We’ve got to see if we can get over the hump against better competition. We’re concentrating on playing hard for four quarters."

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Opponents looking past Salem may pay

ROLLA - It must be a strong field when a strong Salem High School boys’ basketball team tends to get lost in the shuffle by area fans.

The Salem Tigers are not one of the first teams named when people talk about the favorites for this year’s US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational.

Rest assured, however, that the opposing teams in the field have been taking notes on Salem.

The 22^nd annual US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational is scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29 at the Rolla High School gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools are Festus and St. Joseph Lafayette from Missouri as well as Arkansas schools Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces St. Joseph Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

Salem has been solid for a while. The Tigers are coming off a 16-10 2006-07 campaign and have three starters back from that squad. So far this season Salem has put together a 6-2 record, capturing the Farmington Tournament championship along the way.

One of Salem’s losses this season was to one of the Rolla event’s favorites – defending Waynesville. However, Waynesville needed a big fourth quarter to pull out the win over scrappy Salem.

"We’re playing pretty well," said Travis Wrightsman, in his seventh season as Salem head coach. "We won the Farmington Tournament by beating the one, two and three seeds.

"Our junior class has been strong throughout their careers. And (Taylor) Sirois is a good senior. They have played a lot of basketball together."

Indeed the Tigers are junior-dominated, with four starters coming from the junior class.

However Sirois, a 6-4 senior forward/center, is the key to the squad. Sirois leads the team in scoring (22 points per game) and rebounding (12 boards per game).

Other starters for Salem include 6-1 junior C.J. Smith, 6-0 junior Cody Wofford, 6-1 junior Zach Pitchford and 6-0 junior Landie Oliver.

The Tigers have had a potent, balanced offensive attack so far this season. Backing Sirois has been Smith, averaging 14 points; Pitchford, averaging 12 points, and Wofford, averaging 10 points.

Wrightsman knows the Tigers will have their hands full in Rolla.

"This year, with Waynesville back and the two teams from Arkansas, it’s a strong field," he said. "Rolla is always decent. It’s a good field again. Rogers has been to the finals the past couple of years. And Waynesville is loaded this year."

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Defending champ Waynesville rounding into form

ROLLA - Usually it’s one of the teams from outside the area considered the favorite in the US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational.

However, until someone knocks them off it’s the Waynesville Tigers who are the boys’ basketball team to beat in this year’s event.

Waynesville became the first team from the area to win the US Bank Holiday Invitational in 17 years last season. And the Tigers enter this year’s event beginning to round into their form of a year ago.

In last year’s Rolla Holiday Invitational championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers 54-48.

This year the 22^nd annual US Bank/Rolla High School Invitational is scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29 at the Rolla High School gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools are Festus and St. Joseph Lafayette from Missouri as well as Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces St. Joseph Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

Waynesville returns all five starters from last season’s 22-win, district tournament championship squad. This season Waynesville is currently 7-1 and ranked No. 8 in the Missouri Class 5 state poll.

It has taken a while for Waynesville to jell this season. Half of its varsity roster, including three starters, were a part of the Tigers’ run to the Missouri Class 5 football state championship. The Waynesville football players missed the basketball season-opener. The lone Tiger loss came to No. 7-ranked Columbia Rock Bridge after the football players had just three practices in.

Since then the extremely athletic Tigers have slowly been coming together.

"From game-to-game you can tell these guys are getting more basketball ready," Waynesville head coach Tom Bildner said of his football players. "It’s just a matter of time. We’re happy where we’re at. Our kids are really good competitors. They don’t like to lose. It’s a carry-over from football."

Chris Rebuck and Domonique Long, a pair of 6-5 senior forwards who were not among the late-arriving football players, have paced the Tigers. Rebuck averages 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while Long averages 15.3 points and 6.9 rebounds. Other Tiger starters include 6-3 junior guard B.J. Ray, 6-7 junior center Robert Childress and 6-1 senior guard T.R. Raines.

Ray averages 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds while Childress averages 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. Off the bench 6-2 senior forward Marel Respress averages 10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds and 6-2 senior forward L.J. Fort 3.0 assists.

"It’s a quality tournament," Bildner said. "On top of that is close to home. We’ll see teams, hopefully, we don’t normally get to see. We know Festus is a scrappy team. The mix up their defense and like to play physical.

"(The Arkansas teams), those guys can practice all fall long. It seems like they run more set plays than we do here in Missouri. A lot of those teams seem to like to play match-up zone, which is effective."

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Rolla hopes to jump up and bite big dogs

ROLLA - There is no question that the Rolla High School boys’ basketball team has been in a bit of a transitional stage this season.

Bulldog head coach Kent Thomas has had to rebuild his front line, as top scorer, rebounding and shot blocker Caleb Parry is now playing collegiately and had to be replaced.

But that doesn’t mean the Bulldogs are not dangerous. Indeed, RHS has displayed the ability – and willingness – to run and gun with top teams, hoping to take advantage of talent and depth on the perimeter.

And the host ‘Dogs are hoping to jump up and bite one of the big dogs in this year’s US Bank/Rolla High School Invitational this week.

The 22^nd annual US Bank/Rolla High School Invitational is scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29 at the Rolla High School gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools are Festus and St. Joseph Lafayette from Missouri as well as Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces St. Joseph Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

Rolla will enter the tournament with a 4-4 record. The Bulldogs have shown the ability to score a lot of points – even topping the century mark once. And the squad’s record is a bit deceiving. The Bulldogs are a couple of last-second shots away from being 6-2.

"Being 6-2 would be a lot better than 4-4," said RHS head coach Kent Thomas. "There were a couple of games we lost late; those things happen in basketball. I’m pleased where these kids are. They have a good grasp of what we’re trying play."

Thomas has used a 10-man rotation, which includes 5-11 junior Tyler Sinnott, 6-3 junior Seth Thomas, 6-0 junior Andrew Chism, 6-4 junior Dalton Friend, 5-11 junior Cameron Fore, 6-2 junior Ben Stickler, 6-3 senior Andy Hall, 5-9 junior Jeff Hinshaw, 5-9 sophomore Gaven Otte and 6-1 junior Chris Bowe.

Sinnott is averaging 18 points per game to pace the Bulldogs while Thomas averages 14 points and five rebounds, Chism nine points and Friend eight points and five rebounds.

Kent Thomas expects a strong field in this year’s event.

"In my three years here the tournament has been a very good event with good, quality teams," he said. "There are no exceptions this year. Har-Ber and Festus are the two new additions. Rogers is top-quality. And maybe the best team in the tournament is just right down the road in Waynesville. Throw in us, Salem and St. James...it’s a real solid tournament."

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Rogers, Ark. hopes for another shot in tourney finals

ROLLA - The Rogers, Ark. High School boys’ basketball team will be coming to Rolla this week for a bit of unfinished business.

The Mountaineers were considered by many to be the favorites in last year’s US Bank/Rolla Holiday Invitational.

However, a red-hot Waynesville Tiger team slowed down the Mountaineer momentum.

In last year’s Rolla Holiday Invitational championship game Waynesville became the first area team in 17 years to win the title, beating Rogers 54-48 in the championship game.

Rogers went on to finish 18-9 overall last year, advancing to the Arkansas Class 7A Semifinals before falling to conference rival – and fellow 2007 Rolla Holiday Invitational participant – Springdale Har-Ber.

This year the 22^nd annual US Bank/Rolla High School Invitational is scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29 at the Rolla High School gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools are Festus and St. Joseph Lafayette from Missouri as well as Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces St. Joseph Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

Rogers would love a chance at revenge against either Har-Ber or Waynesville in the Rolla title game.

"What I like about the tournament is the opportunity to play right before you get into the conference," said Rogers head coach Marty Barnes. "You can kind of experiment a little bit. And I like the competition...you probably can’t get any better than Waynesville, who we played in the finals last year. And Rolla is averaging a ton of points. All that should get your ready for conference."

The Mountaineers are currently 8-2. One loss came to one of the best team’s in Arkansas – Little Rock Hall – by the score of 44-41 and the other came to solid Class 7A opponent Russellville.

This will be the last year Rogers, Ark. will have just one high school. Heritage High will open next school year, when Heritage begins classes in a new, $35 million high school.

Both schools will be in Class 7A for basketball, so a huge cross-town rivalry should be born. Rogers High opened in 2000 at a cost of about $30 million. The district has spent $21 million on new football facilities for both schools in the past year.

The Mountaineers have rode the talents of 6-7 forward Aaron Hawley and 6-6 forward Cody Lay so far this season. Lay is averaging 15.3 points, six rebounds and two steals per game while Hawley averages 15 points and five boards.

Other expected starters for Rogers include point guard Hunter Smeltzer (5.1 assists), guard Jordan Ganoung (56 percent from three-point range) and guard Ronyae Samuels (seven points per game).

As a team the Mountaineers are averaging 48 points per game while allowing an average of 32.6.

"We took the No. 1 team in the state (Little Rock Hall) to a three-point game on the road," Barnes said. "And we lost to a good Russellville team, and we had another game we didn’t play well and won at the buzzer.

"Any time your holding your opponents to 32 points it gives you an opportunity to win."

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Irish coach knows of US Bank event well

ROLLA - St. Joseph Lafayette High School boys’ basketball head coach Chris Neff has known about the US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational almost from the inception of the event.

Now he will be bringing his team in to compete in the tourney.

"I’m pleased to get to play in Rolla," said Neff, in his first season as head coach for the Lafayette Irish. "My father coached here years ago, and was coaching when (Lafayette) got in the tournament in 1994. I remember that great matchup between Lafayette’s Kish Lewis and Rolla’s Brian Garstang. I used to coach under (former Rolla and St. James boys’ head coach Jon Clark) at Webster Groves. In fact, (former Rolla assistant basketball coach Scott Stallcup) took my place at Webster when I left. Those are great guys, so my knowledge of the tournament goes back really from the beginning."

Over the past several seasons Lafayette has alternated with another St. Joseph school, Benton, to come to the Rolla event every other year. This year is the Irish’s turn to make the trip.

This season the tournament is to be held Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 27-29, at the Rolla High School gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools are Festus and Lafayette from Missouri as well as Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers High School from Arkansas. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

Neff is in the middle of a rebuilding process at Lafayette. The squad struggled through a 5-19 campaign in 2006-07.

However, the Irish have made much improvement under Neff. So far the Irish are 5-2, having beaten Chillicothe on Dec. 20 before breaking for the holidays.

Lafayette returns all five starters from last season and Neff uses a nine-man varsity rotation.

"I’m really happy where we’re currently at," Neff said. "I’m just establishing myself as the new coach; I’m trying to get them to believe in what we’re doing. Last year; a lot of that was youth."

Bryce McCrary, a 5-10 senior guard, leads a balanced scoring attack for the Irish with a 13-point average.

Other starters for Lafayette include 5-10 sophomore guard Taylor Deayon, 6-1 junior guard Bryston Williams, 6-3 senior forward Derrick Williams and 6-4 senior center Josh Davis.

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Festus coach returns to area for US Bank Holiday Tourney

ROLLA - Shawn Erickson knows these parts pretty well.

Erickson was the head coach at Belle High School before taking over as the Festus High School boys’ basketball head coach two years ago.

He comes back to the area not playing Gasconade Valley Conference competition. Instead, this time he’s meeting large schools, some of them state-ranked, Dec. 27-29 in the US Bank/Rolla Holiday Invitational, to be held at the Rolla High School gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools are Festus and St. Joseph Lafayette from Missouri as well as Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers High School from Arkansas. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces St. Joseph Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

In his second year with the Festus Tigers Erickson continues to have a roller-coaster campaign. Last season the squad finished 12-13. So far this season the Tigers are 4-3. In its last game before the holiday break Festus whipped Winfield 60-42.

"It’s been up and down," Erickson said. "We’ve played some pretty tough teams. We’ve been sort of like Waynesville. We had a late run in football and that has made (the basketball team) run behind all season."

Despite playing the defending tourney champion Waynesville in the first round, Erickson said the Rolla event will be a good experience for his club.

"I know (Waynesville is) pretty athletic, from seeing them at Belle," Erickson said. "We’re excited about going to the tournament. It will be a lot of competition we don’t normally see. It will be a big three-day test."

Festus returns three starters from last season – 6-4 senior guard Myles Becquette, 6-7 junior forward Thomas Stubbs and 5-10 junior guard Alex Wilkey. Erickson, who said he lost his regular starting point guard to injury recently, expects to round out his starting lineup with 6-3 senior forward Patrick Kopp and 6-2 sophomore forward Cody Roberts.

Becquette has been the key to the Tiger attack, averaging 18.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 3.7 assists so far this season. Wilkey is averaging 9.7 points; Stubbs 6.6 points and 7.7 rebounds, and Roberts 7.1 points and 5.6 rebounds.

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Newness not new for Springdale, Ark. Har-Ber

ROLLA - The Springdale, Ark. Har-Ber boys’ basketball team is one of the new kids on the block for the 2007 US Bank/Rolla High School Holiday Invitational.

And newness is nothing new to the Har-Ber Wildcats. The school opened its doors just three years ago, so the basketball program is still in its infancy.

And already the Wildcats have been to a state basketball championship game.

The US Bank/Rolla Holiday Invitational is scheduled to be held Dec. 27-29 at the RHS gym.

The event pits four area teams against four teams from outside the south-central Missouri area in first-round play.

This year the area squads include Rolla, St. James, Waynesville and Salem while the out-of-the-area schools include Festus and St. Joseph Lafayette from Missouri as well as Springdale Har-Ber and Rogers High School from Arkansas. The tournament bracket is not seeded. Instead, area schools draw one of the four teams outside the area as a first-round opponent.

In first-round games on Thursday, Dec. 27 Waynesville plays Festus at 4 p.m., Salem meets Springdale Har-Ber at 5:30 p.m., Rolla faces St. Joseph Lafayette at 7 p.m. and St. James takes on Rogers at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, Dec. 28 the Waynesville-Festus loser plays the Salem-Springdale loser at 4 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette loser plays the St. James-Rogers loser at 5:30 p.m. in consolation play while the Waynesville-Festus winner meets the Salem-Springdale winner at 7 p.m. and the Rolla-Lafayette winner meets the St. James-Rogers winner at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals. On Saturday, Dec. 29 the seventh-place game is scheduled for 3 p.m., the fifth-place game for 4:30 p.m., the third-place game for 6 p.m. and the championship game for 7:30 p.m.

In last year’s championship game Waynesville defeated Rogers, Ark., 54-48.

Springdale Har-Ber may be new to the tournament. But the Wildcats know a little something about the event. Har-Ber head coach Eric Burnett was a collegiate player for current Rogers head coach Marty Barnes when the two were at Arkansas Tech. They have continued a friendship, and Barnes and told Burnett he’ll like it in Rolla.

"I don’t know much about it," Burnett said. "But Coach Barnes told me it’s a good tournament. Rogers is in our conference (Arkansas’ 7A West Conference). I like to get away for tournaments, and play teams we normally don’t see. But Rogers happens to be in this one, too."

Burnett has done an impressive job in starting the boys’ basketball program at Har-Ber. Last season the Wildcats posted a 24-6 record and advanced to the Arkansas Class 7A State Tournament championship game. Har-Ber ended up finishing runner-up, falling to Fort Smith Northside in the state title game.

It has been another rebuilding job for Burnett this season, as he lost all five starters from that state runner-up squad.

Again, it appears the Wildcats are quick-studies. So far this season they are off to a 6-3 start.

"I’m coaching as I go," Burnett said. "We’re trying to get them to understand what I expect. We play at a pretty good tempo."

Wildcat starters this season have been 6-1 senior John Tyson, 6-5 senior Brett Branata, 6-7 junior Joe Perry, 5-11 junior Taylor Sipes and 5-7 junior Mason Clinkscales.

Sipes is leading a balanced scoring attack with a 12-point-a-game average while Branata averages 10 points and seven rebounds.

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