Our Opinion: Christmas Tournament served up four days of exciting basketball

Wow, what a tournament!

The 2024 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament — the 80th installment of this exciting holiday tradition — was chock full of rivalries, outstanding performances and surprises.

For the rivalry, look no further than the championship game — No. 1 seed Jackson Indians against No. 2 seed Cape Girardeau Central Tigers. Anyone who follows high school sports in Southeast Missouri knows of the ongoing friendly feud between Cape and Jackson. It’s always a battle whenever these teams meet, but when they clash with a championship at stake, all the better.

These two teams had met in the last two Christmas Tournament finals, with Cape Girardeau winning both. Earlier this season, Cape had downed Jackson in a semifinal matchup in the SEMO Conference Tournament.

But Monday night belonged to the Indians.

Kole Deck led the squad with 18 points, and Jackson won 50-41.

The Indians last won the Christmas Tournament championship in 2013.

Congratulations!

Deck, unsurprisingly, played well throughout the tournament and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Joining him were Tyseandre’ Edwards and Mar’k Mills of Cape Central, Nolan Fowler of Chaffee, Ryan Jeffries of Delta, Preston Campbell of Leopold, Brett Dohogne and Kolton Johnson of Notre Dame, Max Snider of Scott City and Korbin Kinder of Woodland.

Kaden Lowery of Scott City secured the Fan-Voted MVP, presented by real estate agent John Spear.

We certainly enjoyed watching those guys play.

Charleston was the No. 3 seed, and Notre Dame was No. 4, but third place in the tournament went to Woodland, the No. 6 seed. Woodland upset perennial power Charleston 68-64 in the consolation game.

It’s a family affair at Woodland, as there are two father-son duos on the team — head coach Shawn Kinder and his son, Korbin, and assistant coach Ryan Layton and his son, Calvin.

In the third-place game, Korbin Kinder tallied 20 points, and Calvin Layton led with 25.

Woodland topping Charleston wasn’t exactly David vs. Goliath, but it wasn’t something area basketball fans saw coming — save maybe those at Woodland.

You can read stories and see photos from the tournament online at www.semissourian.com and www.semoball.com. A recorded livestream from Day 4 is available on the Semoball.com Facebook page, thanks to support from Auto Tire & Parts NAPA.

Congratulations to all the teams in the tournament. Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers who helped put on the event, the sponsors who supported it, and especially to the fans who enjoyed four days of intense competition.

We’re already looking forward to the next tournament!