Strong slate of games in Central Bank Shootout

Helias, Jays, Blair Oaks and Fatima to play

If you're a high-school basketball fan, then there's no better place for you to be today than at Rackers Fieldhouse.

Helias will play host to the Central Bank Shootout today as four area teams will take on some impressive out-of-town talent.

The day starts at 3 p.m. when the Fatima Comets (12-6) take on the Battle Spartans (6-11).

The Comets had a four-game winning streak snapped Thursday night when they lost to South Callaway, while the Spartans come in after snapping a five-game losing streak Friday with a 51-36 win against Blair Oaks.

Battle's skid had started with a loss to another Shootout squad, Jefferson City, and its most recent loss came another Shootout team, Strafford.

Daviante Ostrander leads the way for Battle by averaging 18.8 points per game. Jerrion Nelson is next at 10.8 points per contest and he leads the Spartans in rebounding with 7.4 per contest. Ostrander and Nelson both average two steals per contest.

At 4:30 p.m., Blair Oaks (13-7) will square off with the Strafford Indians (16-3).

Strafford, which finished third in the state last year, is currently ranked fifth in Class 3 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

The Indians boast a veteran squad, as they have a whopping 13 seniors on their roster and two juniors.

Strafford's losses have come to a pair of Class 5 schools, Ozark and Nixa, and Crane, the top-ranked team in Class 2. The loss to Ozark came in the Logan-Rogersville Tournament, an event won by the Helias Crusaders.

Following that game is Jefferson City (12-7) taking on Madison Prep (11-8) at 6 p.m.

Madison Prep finished fourth in the state in Class 3 last year, falling 70-63 to Strafford in the third-place game.

The Bears played a brutal early season schedule, taking some lumps against some of the Midwest's top teams while starting 6-8. They have since won five straight.

Daniel Farris leads Madison Prep by scoring 16.9 points per contest, while Levi Stockard is the top rebounder at 7.3 per game.

Finally, a 7:30 p.m. contest will match up the Helias Crusaders and the St. Louis Christian Cougars.

It will be a tall task for the Crusaders (15-4) to pull out a victory. Tall as in the fact the Cougars have 10 players on their roster listed at 6-foot-4 or bigger, including 7-foot center Mamadou Kamara. They also have 6-10 forward Aboubacar Diallo and and pair of 6-9 forwards.

Christian (8-4) is the No. 3-ranked small-school team in the St. Louis Post Dispatch rankings.