The Scott Spinner era for Waterloo High School boys basketball got underway Friday with a 55-54 loss at Althoff.

The score was even for much of the game, with the two teams tied at 10-10 after one quarter and the Crusaders leading 19-18 at halftime. Althoff still clung to a 37-36 lead entering the final frame.

With Althoff up by four points and just 40 seconds remaining in the contest, Waterloo’s Dustin Crawford grabbed an offensive rebound and scored while being fouled. He made the free-throw to cut Althoff’s lead to 55-54 with just 18 seconds left.

The Crusaders held on for the narrow win, however.

Ty Lenhardt led the Bulldogs with 23 points in Spinner’s first game as head coach. Crawford added 12 points for Waterloo, which plays Tuesday at Civic Memorial.

“(I’m) proud of the effort and intensity the guys brought on the road,” Spinner said after the game.

On Saturday, Columbia improved to 2-0 with a 54-51 win at home over Salem. The Eagles led 50-42 with 4:05 remaining in the contest, but the Wildcats battled back to make it a 52-51 contest in the final 30 seconds.

Jackson Holmes calmly sank two free-throws with three seconds remaining to provide the Eagles some breathing room. Salem’s last-ditch inbounds attempt was stolen to end the game. Holmes led Columbia with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Jonah James added 14 points.

Columbia hosts Red Bud on Tuesday. The Musketeers (2-1) dominated Dupo on Saturday, winning 57-19.

Also on Saturday, Valmeyer improved to 2-0 with a 40-23 victory at home over Marissa. Nathan Touchette led the way with 20 points for the Pirates, who play at Steeleville on Tuesday.

Gibault looked like it was on its way to a nice road win over Althoff on Saturday, but the Hawks ran out of gas late in a 60-51 defeat. Gibault led 23-20 at halftime and 37-34 after three quarters, but were outscored 26-14 by the Crusaders in the final frame. Ryan Bollinger led the Hawks with 18 points. Owen Scherff added seven points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawks (1-2) lost at Metro-East Lutheran on Thursday, 54-48. Kameron Hanvey scored a game-high 21 points to lead Gibault in the loss. Jude Green added eight points and 11 rebounds.