Several players with area ties will be in action during the next week as the NAIA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments get under way.
Evangel (25-8) was the lone Missouri team to receive a seed in the men's event, which seeds the top half of the 32 teams in the tournament being held at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
The Crusaders are the 15th seed and will take on Xavier University (27-5) of New Orleans at 2:15 p.m. Thursday in a first-round contest.
Sophomore Jayme Donnelly (Linn High School) has played in 31 games for Evangel, starting four of them. He is averaging 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds per game and is third on the team with 60 assists.
The Columbia College Cougars (26-5) will open the tournament at 2:15 p.m. today against Lee University (22-8) of Cleveland, Tenn., the No. 16 seed.