You can’t get any more pressure-packed than this.

If you don’t win, you go home &045; for the season.

The Adams Christian Rebels are in a tumultuous predicament today &045; if they lose to Riverfield in the first round of the District 3-AA tournament today, they’ll have to watch next week’s South State tournament from the bleachers and read about somebody else playing in the next day’s paper.

So choose the clich of your choice, but make no bones about it &045; it’s gut-check time when the Rebels host Riverfield at 7:45 p.m. today.

&uot;That’s what I told them last week,&uot; first-year AC head coach Kyle Smith said. &uot;We have to win Tuesday, or you’ve got to pay money to watch like the rest of them. I think the guys are up to the challenge and realize what’s at stake. After Friday’s and Saturday’s games, they realize they’re a good basketball team. They need to come out and play well.&uot;

The Rebels enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the six-team field, but they are perhaps the biggest Jekyll-and-Hyde team around. They finished the regular season with only two district wins, but one came against a tough Chamberlain-Hunt team.

Then they turn around and beat Class AAA Parklane Friday and play Brookhaven Academy tough enough on the road to trail by one at halftime.

&uot;I challenged the seniors a few weeks ago and told them it’s up to them when they want their season to be over,&uot; Smith said. &uot;Despite our record, I feel we have an opportunity to win the district tournament. I don’t think there’s any reason why we shouldn’t be able to play well and give ourselves a chance to win.&uot;

All the Rebels need to do to lock up a spot at South State is win today since the top four teams from the tournament will qualify for the next round. But the Rebels have to do it against a team that beat them twice during the regular season, although the Rebels had Riverfield on the ropes the second time before the wheels fell off at the end.

At least the Rebels match up well with Riverfield and just about everyone in the district &045; not too big underneath and a lot of shooting guards on the perimeter.

&uot;There are a couple of good players from Riverfield that we have to watch out for,&uot; Smith said. &uot;They’ve got good guard play and see the floor well, and they pass the ball well. That’s what happened the last time we played them. They started penetrating on us, and when we got on them they found the open man.&uot;

If the last two games are any indication of how things will go today, that would bode well for planning next week’s tournament. The Rebels were able to go inside with success to Casey Gould and Timmy Foster instead of relying on their perimeter guys to get the job done.

Gould scored 15 against Parklane and came back with a career-high 26 points against Brookhaven Academy.

&uot;We try to get the ball to the open player &045; whoever is hot,&uot; Smith said. &uot;Against Brookhaven, Dustin (Case) was hot and Casey was playing well, also. They’ll double-team when we do get the ball to Casey. As long as he can get 15-20 points, that’s about what he needs.&uot;

Trinity Episcopal

The Saints are in the situation everyone else is in the first round of the district tournament, and a win would put them in South State with a chance to meet up with ACCS for the third time.

But first things first, including the Saints keeping it together well enough today when they meet No. 5 seed Silliman at 5 p.m. today at Bowling Green.

&uot;It’s just the same ol’ story this year,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;We’ve had some bad luck with three starters leaving us, but we’ve got to keep playing. I’m really proud of this group. You never know with this group, but I’m really proud of them.&uot;

The Saints enter as the No. 4 seed, but they’ve struggled of late following the knee injury to Wyatt Craig and point guard Gervoni Ware’s departure. It’s put the scoring responsibilities almost solely on the shoulders of sophomore forward Stevan Ridley, who has drawn double- and triple-teams from the opposition since then.

Others have stepped up. Zach Rogel and Tripp Bryant have come up with big scoring nights, but the Saints will need it this week.

&uot;Zach, Tripp and Jon Davis King are all comfortable with that role play,&uot; King said. &uot;We’re just having a tough go of it. Ware ignited big scoring opportunities for us, and we’ve had trouble since then. But our defense has picked up. That’s all you can ask for.&uot;