HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: LADY TIGERS SLIP PAST MT. VERNON AT THE WIRE 54-53

Heather Jenkins broke loose for a layup with two seconds remaining as Cape Girardeau Central nipped Mt. Vernon, Ill., 54-53 for an exciting home victory Monday night in girls basketball action.

Cape Central (3-1) lost to Mt. Vernon last season and again found itself trailing Monday 41-37 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Lady Tigers took their first fourth-quarter lead, 50-49, with about three minutes left on a 3-pointer by Jessica Sinn.

Mt. Vernon (4-2) held the lead, 53-52, and the ball with about a minute left when Katie Dougherty made a steal for Cape Central. The Lady Tigers ran down the clock and called a timeout with 15 seconds remaining. After inbounding, Alex Wieser found Jenkins cutting to the basket down low for the game-winner.

"To come back and get a win against a good team like Mt. Vernon is a great win for us," said Cape Central coach Mark Ruark.

The game was close throughout as Mt. Vernon clung to one-point leads at the end of the first quarter and halftime.

Dougherty led Cape Central with 15 points, while Wieser finished with 14 and Sara Hyslop added 10.

Cape Central returns to action Wednesday night when it visits intra-city rival Notre Dame.

"If we can play with this kind of intensity on Wednesday in ought to be a great game," said Ruark. "I believe right now Notre Dame is best team in Southeast Missouri."

Chaffee Tournament

CHAFFEE, Mo. --Top-seeded Kelly and No. 2 Sikeston both rolled to victory while host Chaffee pulled off a major comeback to highlight first-round action.

Kelly destroyed No. 8 East Prairie 63-18, Sikeston routed No. 7 Portageville 46-24 and No. 5 Chaffee overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to slip past No. 4 Oran 54-53.

Kelly (4-0) was led in scoring by Bridgett Riley with 20 points. Marissa Essner and Nicole Kern added 10 points apiece.

Chaffee (2-1) got 20 points from Jennifer Vandeven and 19 from Jodi Pfefferkorn. Oran was paced by Anilise Lange with 14 points, Stacey Eftink with 13 and Maria Eftink with 12.

The Lady Red Devils trailed 34-19 at halftime and 46-32 entering the fourth quarter, but they outscored the Lady Eagles 22-7 in the final period. Oran hurt itself by amazingly hitting just one of 17 free-throw attempts.

"We had a slow start, but our kids hung in there and never quit," said Chaffee coach Tammy Brock.

There will be no tournament games tonight. Play resumes Wednesday with three games, including the final first-round contest between No. 3 Scott City and No. 6 Delta at 5:30 p.m. Kelly and Chaffee meet in the semifinals at 7 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL

M. Heights JV tourney

PATTON, Mo. -- In opening-round play, top-seeded Notre Dame breezed into Wednesday night's semifinals with a 53-22 victory over No. 8 seed Marquand.

In other first-round games, No. 2 Meadow Heights stormed past Leopold 54-22; No. 6 Fredericktown upset No. 3 Woodland 50-49; and No. 4 St. Vincent stopped No. 5 Scott City 40-33.

In Wednesday's semifinals, Fredericktown will face Meadow Heights at 7 p.m. while Notre Dame and St. Vincent will square off at 8:15.

The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

ND freshmen win

Lee Essner and Steve Hendricks both scored 11 points as Notre Dame's freshmen posted a 41-36 victory over Kelly. Notre Dame improved to 2-5.

Central freshmen sweep

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Cape Central captured `A' and `B' games from Carbondale as both squads remained undefeated.

The `A' team improved to 5-0 with a 54-39 win. Mitch Craft scored 21 points and Jake Knepp added 15.

The `B' team is now 3-0 after a 46-38 victory. Martez Bell scored 11 points.