Congrats to Central Tigers on tournament championship

Congratulations to the Tigers from Cape Girardeau Central.

The orange and black won Wednesday night in the championship game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, edging out top-seeded and arch rival Jackson in the process.

It was a highly competitive game, with neither team gaining more than a six-point advantage. Central ended up on the better end of a 46-44 score.

It was the first Christmas Tournament title for Central since 1996, even though the Tigers had come close in 2009, 2012 and 2013, taking second place in each of those three years.

After the tournament championship, head coach Drew Church praised his team's effort.

"We don't have much varsity experience. ... They battled, they guarded well, they rebounded even though they were undersized and they deserve it.

"I just want them to see that good things happen if you bust your tail. And they have. They're coachable; they're great kids to be around; they listen; they play extremely hard."

They certainly did play hard, as did the Jackson Indians, who had opportunities, but came up just short. Jackson continued its recent history of deep runs into the tournament.

We are grateful to all of the teams, coaches, referees, cheerleaders, organizers and journalists who made the 2015 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament another success. Thousands of people came out to enjoy high school basketball. It was another great tournament.

The high school basketball season is not over. Good luck to all our area teams as they move forward. We hope the experience gained from the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament will pay dividends later as teams vie for conference, district and state championships.

Good luck, and here's to great basketball in 2016.