The annual Freeburg/Columbia Holiday Tournament kicked off with a bang on Wednesday.

The Gibault High School boys basketball team (11-1) took on Civic Memorial (5-6) for the second time in just over a week. In the first meeting of the season, the Hawks pulled away with a 10-point victory. Wednesday night, however, was much different.

The Hawks, who beat Dupo earlier in the day in their first game of the tournament, 64-40, were down for much of the game against the Eagles. Several key shots from Gibault’s Matt Schreder put them on top in the second quarter and again with 1:45 to go in regulation. Still, the Hawks struggled to stay up on Civic Memorial.

Gibault guard Mitch Meyer turned the tide in the final seconds of a physical game, hitting a three-point buzzer beater to send it into overtime at 56-56. Meyer again would pull through for the Hawks in the extra frame, driving to the basket and laying one in for the win.

Four seconds later, Gibault went on to beat Civic Memorial, 61-59.

Earlier, cross-county rivals Columbia (6-4) and Waterloo (6-4) met in the third game of the tournament. In this low scoring affair, the Bulldogs pulled through, winning 33-28.

Murphysboro was snowed in and was not able to play Wednesday, rescheduling their game for Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. They will also play Hillsboro at 3 p.m.