PB Showdown Day 1

From Peters Gym, it's the opening day of the 25th Poplar Bluff Showdown.

Here's the bracket.

Washington and Forrest City featuring long 3s, big dunks, bloody chins and lots of points. At half, Washington led 32-28 but took a 52-48 lead into the fourth.

FINAL: Washington 72, Forrest City 63

Mules trail Memphis Kirby 20-17 at halftime.

FINAL: Kirby 52, Mules 32

Poplar Bluff got within 28-22 in third quarter but didn't score again for nearly 11 minutes as Kirby pulled away.

Sylvan Hills leads Tupelo 33-26 at halftime. Kentucky signee Archie Goodwin has 10 points, eight rebounds and a steal for Sylvan Hills.

Tupelo has stormed back to take a 40-39 lead with 1:23 left in the third quarter.

FINAL: Tupelo 65, Sylvan Hills 60

Goodwin had 24 points but was 8 of 16 from the line and fouled out on a technical in the closing seconds. He missed a 3 with 9.6 seconds left trailing 60-57 and Tupelo made 4 of 6 free throws to ice the win.

Rashon Coleman led Tupelo with 23 points while Dajon Reno added 12. Chaz Jones gave Tupelo the lead with 45 seconds left on a drive-and-scoop in the lane.

Maplewood-RH has jumped out to a 32-6 halftime lead.

After three quarters, Maplewood-RH leads 50-16.

FINAL: Maplewood-RH 63, Hillcrest 22

Corey Frazier led the Blue Devils (4-3) with 17 points while Jake Hensel added 12 and Caleb Greenwalt scored nine.

Hillcrest (0-10) was led by Cortez Wallace's nine points and seven by Jermell Abram.

Here's a preview of tonight's games:

Game 1: Maplewood-RH vs. Memphis Hillcrest

The Blue Devils are back for the first time since 2007 when they finished seventh then went on to win the MSHSAA Class 3 state title that season. Charleston native Corey Frazier is the coach of Maplewood-RH and his son, Corey, is a 5-10 junior. Hillcrest was third last year but only returns two starters and is off to an 0-9 start to its season.

Game 2: Tupelo (Miss.) vs. Sylvan Hills (Ark.)

Tupelo left the Showdown last year as the runner-up and returns the defending champions. The Golden Wave lost in the final last year 74-52 but Soldan had to vacate its title for use of ineligible players (they were ejected in a game before the tournament but didn't sit out as per MSHSAA rules). Tupelo returns one starter.

Sylvan Hills is making its first Showdown appearance after a making a run to the 5A state final in Arkansas last year. Player to watch: Archie Goodwin, who recently signed with Kentucky, leads this team from the north suburbs of Little Rock.

Game 3: Poplar Bluff vs. Memphis Kirby

The Mules (2-6) look to find their shooting touch against a Memphis Kirby team that lost three of its games by five total points and is 4-4. Player to watch: Beenie Williams of Kirby is averaging 15.8 points this season.

Game 4: Memphis Booker T. Washington vs. Forrest City (Ark.)

Washington is ranked fourth in Memphis and comes into its first Showdown unbeaten at 4-0. Forrest City is making its fifth Showdown appearance having won in 2006. Players to watch: Forrest City's 6-7 Trey Thompson is ranked 25th best sophomore in the nation while Martavius Newby has signed with Ole Miss after averaging 22.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.7 steals per game last year for Washington.

Admission is $7 per night.

The Showdown is sponsored by First Midwest Bank and 50 other area businesses.