Local high school boys basketball teams took to the court this week in area tournaments to kick off the 2016-17 season.

Waterloo, which finished 8-22 last year under first-year head coach Dane Walter, opened play in the Battling Bulldogs Thanksgiving Tournament at Highland High School on Monday with a game against Edwardsville. The Bulldogs fell to the Tigers, 80-52. Dylan Hunt scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Ben Huels added 13 points for Waterloo.

Waterloo battled hard but lost to O’Fallon on Tuesday, 59-48. Huels and Eli Dodd scored 12 points each for Waterloo, who will battle state title contender Althoff at 4 p.m. Friday.

Waterloo, which returns  all of its starters and most of its team from last season, closes out tourney play with a game against Carbondale at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Gibault, which finished 24-10 last season under legendary head coach Dennis Rueter, opened its season with a 65-40 win Monday against Odin in the 36th annual Metro-East Lutheran Thanksgiving Turkey Tipoff Classic. Trevor Davis led the way with 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, scoring his 1,000th career point in the process.

The Hawks continue tourney play with a contest against Wood River at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Bracket play takes place Friday and Saturday, with the title game slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Other local teams in the tourney at Metro-East Lutheran High School are Dupo and Valmeyer. The Tigers lost to Gillespie on Monday, 72-57. Taylor Stanek scored 18 points and Austin Francis added 14 points for Dupo. The Tigers dropped to 0-2 with a 67-32 loss to Roxana on Tuesday. Jacob Maguire scored eight points for the Tigers. Valmeyer dropped its season opener, 52-24, to Freeburg on Tuesday and will battle the Metro East Lutheran JV squad at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Owen Miller scored 11 points to lead the Pirates.

Columbia, which went 22-7 and won a regional title last season, opens its season in the Wesclin/Lebanon Thanksgiving Tournament at Wesclin High School this Saturday with a game against Nashville at 6 p.m.

Tourney play continues with a game against Father McGivney at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, followed by a game against Wesclin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30. The Eagles close out tourney play with a  game against Lebanon at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3.

Read previews of all five local hoops teams in the Nov. 30 issue.

To view the matchups for the Battling Bulldogs Tournament at Waterloo High School, click here.

For the Wesclin/Lebanon High School Thanksgiving Tournament schedule of games, click here.

For the Metro-East Lutheran High School Thanksgiving Turkey Tip-Opp Classic bracket, click here.