Intriguing First Round Holiday Tournament Matchups

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Christmas Holiday Tournament season will get going in full swing this weekend and also right after Christmas Day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the tournament action begins, Prep Hoops Missouri has put the spotlight on a intriguing group of first round games around the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1789413,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tate-McCubbin.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tate-McCubbin.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1789413" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>*Battle vs Pembroke Hill (William Jewell Tournament): An excellent first round matchup between a strong Mid Missouri program against an excellent Kansas City program. Battle has already won a tournament at Troy. The Spartans have plenty of firepower, led by 6'7 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1430519' first='Tate' last='McCubbin']. Pembroke Hill has some impressive offensive weapons in 6'3 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1850449' first='Mav' last='Hawkins'] and 6'3 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1579229' first='Max' last='Sprott'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>********</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2053883,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/IMG_4133.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/IMG_4133.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2053883" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>*Timberland vs Holt (St. Dominic Tournament): An excellent matchup featuring rivals from the Wentzville School District. Timberland won the first meeting 53-47 on December 15. Timberland is led by 2025 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1887578' first='Jacob' last='Aydelott'], who is averaging 18 points a game and 6'6 2025 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1439835' first='Mason' last='Carroll']. Holt has a dynamic scoring point guard in 5'10 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1598869' first='Will' last='Salonies'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2220048,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/525-Cannon-Thornhill.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/525-Cannon-Thornhill.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2220048" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>*Fair Grove vs. Aurora (Blue &amp; Gold Tournament, Blue Division): Fair Grove has a strong team that could make some noise in Class 3 this season. They feature 6'7 2024 forward [player_tooltip player_id='2102804' first='Tyler' last='Barnett'] and 6'2 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1531925' first='Blake' last='Winterberg']. Aurora features a very talented young guard in 6'2 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2117605' first='Cannon' last='Thornhill'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>*****</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1970369,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Mason-Dunlap.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Mason-Dunlap.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1970369" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>*Eureka vs Fort Zumwalt South (Coaches vs Cancer): A good first round game featuring two solid, well coached teams. The two teams met last year with South winning a defensive struggle 24–15. The Bulldogs are led by 2025 guard Cameron Brown while Eureka is paced by excellent 2024 point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1430528' first='Mason' last='Dunlap'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2023783,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/IMG_3201.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/IMG_3201.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2023783" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glendale vs Marshfield (Blue &amp; Gold Tournament, Gold Division): Ghis matchup features two of the top young players in the SWMO area, who are both Division l prospects. Glendale, the No. 3 seed is led by dynamic 2026 guard [player_tooltip player_id='1662908' first='Amare' last='Witham'], who's one of the top offensive players in Missouri. Marshfield is led by versatile 6'7 2025 Tegen Curley, who has already committed to Austin Peay.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2284129,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_2078.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_2078.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2284129" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Pemiscot vs Van Buren (Bloomfield Tournament): Van Buren enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed with a 6-1 record. They have an excellent guard in 6'1 2025 Elijah Van Wagner. South Pem is the No. 11 seed, but it raised a few eyebrows this week after defeating a Risco team that had just won the Clarkton Tournament. They feature a pair of quick guards in 5'7 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2539667' first='Robert' last='Farmer'] and 5'10 2027 Ty Campbell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1703001,"width":"307px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/8BBF31AC-62AB-4FA7-AF5D-4214073AE234.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/8BBF31AC-62AB-4FA7-AF5D-4214073AE234.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1703001" style="width:307px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lee's Summit vs Kansas City Central (William Jewell, Patterson Division): One on many good first round tilts at William Jewell. Lee's Summit has a balanced team with good size with 6'5 2025 Jaylen Lockhart and 6'8 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1850452' first='Landon' last='Van Pelt']. Central has a strong pair of 2024 guards in [player_tooltip player_id='1160818' first='Tim' last='Wooden'] Jr and [player_tooltip player_id='1263919' first='Brandon' last='Moore'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->