Action Hot in Webster Groves tonight

The Webster Groves area will be rocking tonight as two tournaments will be taking place right down the street from each other.
The Nerinx Hall Invitational girls tournament will conclude with its championship game while the National Bank/Webster Groves Classic will open with four boys games today.
Metro Women's Athletic Association rivals Cor Jesu and Visitation will sqare off for the Nerinx Hall crown tonight. Cor Jesu (4-0) has a tall and talented team led by 5'10" senior Kelly Gorman, who averages 11 points a game and shoots nearly 50 percent from 3-point range. CJA also boasts 6'1" junior Meg Riley (11 points, 10 rebounds a game), 5'10" senior Kelly Schuering (10 points, 7.8 reb.) and 5'9" senior Liz Sinclair (8.8 ppg.)
Visitation is off to a 3-0 start behind the play of 5'9" senior Jessica Puricelli and 5'7" junior Lydia Harlan.
In the third-place game, host Nerinx Hall will meet Oakville.

The National City/Webster Groves Classic begins today with SLUH meeting Lee's Summit North at 4 p.m., Maplewood vs. Kirkwood at 5:30 p.m., Webster Groves vs. Miller Career Academy at 7 p.m. and Marquette vs. Belvedere North (Ill.) at 8:30 p.m.
It should be an excellent tournament with the host Webster Groves Statesmen being the favorites to recapture the top prize after dropping a thrilling one-point decision to Maplewood in last year's finals.
That Statesmen feature a very athletic and aggressive team led by senior guards Derrick Dilworth and Cortez Conners. Junior Jason Meehan and sophomores Demetrius Robinson and Rayshawn Simmons are also key players.
SLUH will field one perhaps the biggest team in the tournament with 6'4" Tim Cooney and 6'5" Mike Mayberger roaming the perimenter and 6'6" leaper Michael Butler inside leading a very tall front line.
Maplewood and Kirkwood should be a most interesting first-round game. MRH is in its second tough tournament, having finished second in the Borgia Thanksgiving Tournament to the host Knight. The Blue Devils are led by senior Bryton Hobbs and junior Calvin Belts, Jr. The Pioneers are led by senior shooter Hunter Ward, junior forward Mycole Pruitt and sophomore Myles Artis.
Belvedere North comes to the tournament from the Rockford, Ill. area while Marquette has an impressive sophomore in 6'7" center Ryan Rossburg.
The semifinals will be held on Friday at 7 and 8:30 p.m. with the championship game set for Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
I will be on hand to check out some of the first-round action tonight.
See you there.

The championship game of the Troy/People's Bank Tournament. Columbia Rock Bridge will take on McCluer North in Friday's nights finals at 8:30 p.m.
Rock Bridge rolled to the finals with a 93-46 victory over Hazelwood East. The Bruins are impressive with a capital I. Senior guard Ricky Kreklow put on a stunning shooting display with 27 points, including seven long, and I mean, long 3-pointers. The 6'6" guard has a beautiful stroke from long distance.
The Bruins are probably the best team I've seen in the early part of the season, other than defending state-champion Chaminade. They already look in late-season form as they move the basketball with ease with their talented crew of shooters. They also have inside power in seniors Logan Parks and football standout Trey Millard. The Bruins have answers on offense at every position. The Bruins have a nice little freshman point guard in Travis Jorgenson. Rock Bridge will get even stronger when junior guard Justin Miller returns from an injury.
McCluer North defeated Troy 64-39 in the other semifinal game. The STars were very business-like in getting to their fourth consecutive championship game. They have won the last three Troy Tournaments. Senior point guard Ollie Roundtree has really developed into one of the top floor generals in the area. He still plays at a high rate of speed, but he is more under control and now he can hit and open 3-pointer to keep defenses honest. He does a great job of getting the ball inside to 6'5" senior Denzel Reed and Ryun Davis.
It will be a big challenge for McCluer North to see if they can slow down this juggernaunt from Rock Bridge, which is averaging more than 90 points a game. Yes, tempo will be a big key to this game.
Troy will face Hazelwood East in the third-place game while Riverview Gardens will face Francis Howell for the consolation prize.
B.J. Schulte and yours truly will be on the call for both the third place and championship games on Prepcasts.com.

In the feature game of the night, St. Francis Borgia defeated Whitfield 78-76 in a thrilling battle of state-championship contenders. Borgia rallied from a 15-point deficit to snatch the victory away from the visiting Warriors.
Senior standout Nathan Scheer led the Borgia rally with a game-high 36 points. The Missouri-State recruit was on fire from long distance, hitting seven of his nine 3-point attempts. Fellow senior Tyler Ressel had 15 points and 14 assists.
Whitfield was led by muscular senior Julian Johnson's 30 points and 21 from 6'6" senior Alex Rudd.
Borgia's early-season schedule will also include showdowns against Chaminade (next Monday night), Jefferson City Helias, CBC and St. Charles West.

The championship game of the St. Charles West Warrior Classic is also set. Host St. Charles West will take on Fort Zumwalt South in Friday night's finals. St. Charles West defeated Fort Zumwalt West 65-55 in the semifinals while Fort Zumwalt South defeated Ritenour 75-49 in the other semifinal game.