Local basketball fans will have an opportunity to see some of the best high school basketball players and teams in the area at the 23rd annual W-K Holiday Shoot-Out. The Shoot-Out features 32 local teams playing 16 games throughout the month of December. The event begins on Friday, Dec. 20, and continues Dec. 21 and Dec. 28 at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center on the State Fair Community College campus.

The idea for the Shoot-Out came 24 years ago from Tom Knight, who was the athletic director at Smith-Cotton High School.

"We implemented it in the spring and summer of 2001 and had the first Shoot-Out that December," said SFCC Athletic Director Darren Pannier. "He (Knight) had the idea to bring in different opponents for the area schools to play. After he gave me the idea, I just started calling local high schools and asking them if they would play a school from outside their area."

The event will begin on Friday, Dec. 20, with a doubleheader between Norborne and Chilhowee. The girl's game will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the boy's contest at 7:30 p.m.

The games on Saturday, Dec.21 will begin with a girl's game between St. Paul's Concordia and Cole Camp at 10:30 a.m., followed by a boy's contest between St. Paul's Concordia and Cole Camp. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. A doubleheader between Warsaw and Santa Fe will follow. The girl's game will tip off at 1:30 p.m., followed by the boy's contest at 3 p.m. LaMonte and Windsor will play a girl's game at 4:30 p.m. Kingsville and Sacred Heart will take the court in a boy's contest at 6 p.m. Eldon will take on Smith-Cotton in a girl's contest at 7:30 p.m. The boy's contest between Summit Christian Academy and Smith-Cotton will close out the action on day two at 9 p.m.

After a break for the Christmas holiday, action will resume on Dec. 28. A doubleheader between Green Ridge and Appleton City will begin the action on the final day. The girl's contest is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m., followed by the boy's contest at noon. A doubleheader between Northwest and Otterville is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff for the girl's game, with the boy's game to follow at 3 p.m. A doubleheader between Concordia and Lincoln will close out this year's event. The girl's contest is scheduled to tipoff at 4:30 p.m., followed by the boy's game at 6 p.m.

The title sponsor of the event is W-K Sedalia. The co-sponsors are McDonald's, Pummill's Sporting Goods, Culligan, Show-Me Sports Network, Bothwell Peak Sport and Spine and Jones Bros.

"The sponsors help make sure that the doors stay open," said Pannier. "It's a costly event. I believe SFCC really benefits from it because it gets prospective students on campus."

The admission price for the event is eight dollars per day for adults and kids 12 and under are admitted free.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics