Two Monroe County teams were in the high school boys basketball spotlight Friday night as Waterloo and Columbia battled in regional championship games.

Unfortunately, both squads suffered heartbreaking defeat.

Waterloo (23-10) hosted Triad (27-6) in a Class 3A regional final, while Columbia (26-7) took on Breese Central (27-5) in the Class 2A Carlyle Regional final. 

‘Dogs trapped

In Waterloo, the Bulldogs were suffocated by a relentless Knights defense in a 46-39 loss. Triad clamped down on 6-foot-10 Waterloo senior Alex Stell, limiting him to 10 points on the night – most of those from the free-throw line.

A Triad three-pointer in the final minute of the opening frame was followed by a bucket just before the buzzer (the shot appeared to have been late), and the Knights led 16-8 entering the second quarter. Triad built up a commanding 26-12 edge with 3:15 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs closed out the second quarter on a 5-0 run.

The physical play continued with even more intensity in the second half, with bodies on the floor throughout. Triad’s lead was 12 in the final minute of the third quarter before a three-pointer from Waterloo senior Max Oswald made it a 36-27 advantage for the Knights entering the final frame.

A bucket from Reid Metzger started the fourth quarter on a positive note for the ‘Dogs, who implemented a full-court press on the Knights in a desperate attempt to climb back into the contest.

It worked, as Waterloo cut Triad’s lead to four points, 36-31, with four minutes remaining.

That’s the closest Waterloo would get, however. A three from Tyler DeVilder shortened Triad’s lead to 40-34 with 3:30 remaining, but Triad made enough free throws to hold on. 

Oswald led Waterloo with 12 points, followed by DeVilder with 11. Triad was led by Drew Winslow’s 16 points. See photos from this game by clicking here.

Triad was led by Drew Winslow’s 16 points. 

“Give plenty of credit to Triad and their players. They defended us very well and made it hard for us to get anything going,” Waterloo head coach Allen Siedle said. “Never felt like we had any type of big momentum or played our best basketball. A lot of that had to do with how Triad defended us.”

Siedle added that Triad’s  strong start to Friday’s game was key.

“They knocked down some early shots and we knew going into the game we needed to have a good start,” Siedle assessed. “They did a good job of slowing it down and creating long possessions. They are a very talented team. We knew it was going to take a very good game from us to give us a chance – it just was not our night.” 

Siedle also expressed thanks to all those who came out to cheer on the Bulldogs in the regional final. 

“I dont think we have seen that many people in the gym for a boys basketball game,” he said. “It was awesome to see.”

Waterloo hosted familiar foe Mascoutah to open regional play last Wednesday. 

Thanks to a big night from point guard Trent Glaenzer, Waterloo won 64-45. Glaenzer, who was left open frequently as Mascoutah focused on stopping Stell, made five of seven three-point attempts for 15 points. 

Stell added 13 points and eight rebounds. Oswald contributed 11 points and nine rebounds for the ‘Dogs, who pulled away in the third quarter.

Stell, who has committed to playing college hoops at the University of Illinois-Springfield, averaged nearly 21 points per game this season in addition to 13 rebounds per contest. 

Stell finished his WHS career as the program’s second leading scorer at 1,703 points and the all-time leading rebounder with 1,223 rebounds – which is good for 14th all-time in Illinois history according to the IHSA.

“Alex Stell will go down as one of the best players – the best player in my eyes – to ever play at Waterloo High School,” Siedle said. “What he did the past four years was remarkable and will be forever remembered as one of the best to do it.” 

Oswald ended his WHS hoops career with an average of 10.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season.

Other departing seniors for the Bulldogs are Griffin Stork and Luke Gilbert.

“2025 will go down as one of the best years in WHS history,” Siedle said. “For myself, it was a dream to be able to coach these kids and bring some success to Waterloo. We created the longest winning streak in school history (14 games), won the first Columbia-Freeburg Holiday Tournament, came in second in the Nashville Invitational Tournament, and won conference for only the second time in school history. The players will be able to hold their heads high and feel good about what they accomplished. I feel like we accomplished a lot of things most people did not expect from us and it was a fun season.”

With all of that said, Siedle said his program has already turned the page toward next season. Some key returning players include Metzger, Glaenzer, DeVilder and Owen Niebruegge.

“Guys are already in the gym shooting and working on their skills to get better,” the coach said. “We have a good group returning. We have a young core who are skilled and hungry for success as well. What we do this offseason will set us up for success next year, and I know our guys are ready to get started.”

Eagles clipped

In Carlyle, Columbia led 14-9 after the first quarter against its Cahokia Conference rival in a battle of highly ranked Class 2A squads. The Eagles – who lost to Breese Central twice already this season – took a 25-19 edge into the halftime locker room. 

The Cougars clawed back, and the game was tied 45-45 at the end of regulation. 

Following an evenly played first overtime, this stressful contest went into a second OT. Columbia was up late in this frame before a three-pointer by Breese Central tied the score again in the final minute. 

On the ensuing possession, Central’s Conlan Haar stole the ball as Columbia’s Sam Donald was dribbling for a final play. Haar raced down the court and made the winning layup just before the buzzer, giving the Cougars a thrilling 57-55 victory.

Donald scored 26 points and grabbed 15 points in his final game for the Eagles.

“It was a very tough ending to our season – I can only think of one other game where I have felt like this and that was the 2007 sectional final in Nashville where we lost to Wesclin in OT,” Columbia head coach Mark Sandstrom said.

The Eagles played a highly touted Breese Central squad tough all three times this season.

“I thought our kids did a really good job of making defensive adjustments to give ourselves the best chance to win. Unfortunately, they made one more play than what we did,” Sandstrom said. “I truly believe Central and Columbia were two of the top five Class 2A teams in the state – it’s really unfortunate that we had to meet so early in the tournament.”

Columbia faced another Cahokia Conference foe, Wesclin, at the Class 2A Carlyle Regional last Wednesday, winning 62-39. The Eagles trailed 24-21 at halftime but outscored the Warriors to the tune of 41-15 in the second half.

Brody Landgraf led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Donald with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Overall, Sandstrom said the 2024-25 campaign was a success.

“We had another great season playing a really tough schedule – 26 wins and two regular season tournament titles is nothing to be upset about,” he said. “Our kids really prepared well for each game and gave themselves the best chance to win. That’s all I can ever ask and the kids have no regrets moving forward.”

The Eagles said goodbye to a group of seniors that won over 100 varsity hoops games in their four years. 

The leader of this group was Donald, who has committed to playing NCAA Division I basketball at Bellarmine University. 

Donald, who averaged 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for the season, finishes as Columbia’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,950 career points and tops all-time in career rebounds with 955.

Other departing seniors include Logan Bosch, Andrew Colyer, Brady Hemminghaus, Logan Hicks, Micah James, Charlie Steckler and Hayes van Breusegen. 

Another departing senior, River Randall, transferred to Columbia this season.

“Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to one heck of a group of seniors,” Sandstrom said. “They will go down in CHS history as the winningest group of seniors ever to walk the school hallways with 101 wins in four years. However, they know they are much more than just the wins – they are outstanding players, students and individuals. They should all be proud of their dedication and loyalty to the game and one another.  As their coach, I’m super proud of them and I have made quite a few lifelong friends moving forward.”

Among those returning for the Eagles next season are juniors Landgraf and Smajic. 

Landgraf averaged 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season. 

Smajic, who missed the early portion of the season due to a knee injury, averaged nearly 15 points per game and shot 44 percent from three-point range.

Hawks grounded

A long hoops season for Gibault (9-23) came to an end last Wednesday night. 

The Hawks lost to highly ranked Waltonville at the Class 1A Marissa Regional, 64-41.

With the loss, Gibault said goodbye to seniors Ryan Biffar, Peyton Schaefer, Grady Frierdich, Ty Frierdich, Kyle Toenjes and Michael Wessel. 

Biffar led the Hawks this season at nearly 12 points per game in addition to 1.7 steals per contest.

Schaefer averaged 7.7 points and seven rebounds per game.

Providing some hope for the future of Hawks hoops in 2025-26 are underclassmen Jack Holston, a sophomore, and Colby Kincheloe, a freshman. 

Holston averaged 10 points per game, shooting 43 percent from three-point range and 93 percent from the charity stripe. 

Kincheloe averaged seven points and 2.3 assists per contest.

For our earlier article on how Waterloo and Columbia reached the regional finals, click here.