The Perryville boys basketball team will have a tough hill to climb next week after the Christmas holidays. The Pirates received the 16th seed in the 67th annual Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Christmas Tournament.
Perryville will take on top seed and host Park Hills Central at 4 p.m. on Mon. Dec. 26.
The Pirates (2-7) were also the 16th seed one year ago in this same tournament and fell to top seed South Iron 90-35 in the opening round. The Panthers went on to defeat third seed Festus 78-66 in the tournament championship game.
Perryville then faced ninth seed Potosi in the consolation bracket and fell 74-50. Potosi went on to win the consolation bracket with a 47-35 over Fredericktown.
The Pirates will face either eight seed Herculaneum or ninth seed North County in the next round, win or lose. Perryville last won a game in the tournament in 2018, when the Pirates won the consolation bracket as the 10-seed.
Park Hills (5-1) has won five straight games including victories over Festus (63-45), Hillsboro (76-54) and Notre Dame (72-64).
The Rebels are coming off a victory over previously undefeated Fulton in the Norm Stewart Classic on Dec. 15.
While Park Hills is the top seed, South Iron is seeded second, and Festus is seeded third. Steelville, came in as the four seed and Ste. Genevieve is seeded fifth, with Hillsboro as the six and Potosi as the seven seed.
The tournament runs from Dec. 26-30 and is a double elimination format. South Iron has won the tournament three years in a row.
