In high school boys basketball action, a couple of local teams are putting together solid starts while others are fighting hard for positive results.

Waterloo (5-4) won two of three recent games. 

Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs won 55-40 over Red Bud and former head coach Dane Walter. Alex Stell, a 6-foot-10 junior, turned in a triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks to lead Waterloo. Caleb Yochum added 16 points and Rodrigo Lopez Tercero chipped in with 14 points. 

On Friday, the ‘Dogs bested Mississippi Valley Conference foe Mascoutah in an overtime road win, 47-44. Stell again had a good game with 22 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. For the season, he’s averaging 21.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per contest. 

Yochum and Tercero are both averaging 12 points per game.

Waterloo hosted Freeburg on Tuesday night, falling 62-54. Yochum scored 16 points and Stell added 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Waterloo will host MVC foe Civic Memorial this Friday following the girls basketball game.

Columbia (5-2) won 44-40 in overtime at Salem on Friday. Sam Donald, a 6-foot-8 junior, led the Eagles with 23 points and 14 rebounds. 

Donald leads Columbia in scoring at 24.6 points per game and in rebounding at 9.4 points per contest.

Columbia hosts Breese Central this Friday in a key Cahokia Conference showdown, then battles Teutopolis in Greenville on Saturday and hosts Roxana this coming Tuesday. 

Gibault (3-4) posted a 62-35 victory over New Athens last Tuesday. The Hawks held a 13-11 edge after one quarter before going on a 21-10 run in the second quarter to coast from there. 

Kanen Augustine scored 19 points for Gibault. 

The win was legendary longtime Gibault head coach Dennis Rueter’s 798th career victory. 

On Saturday, the Hawks lost 76-53 at home to Mehlville. The Hawks trailed 22-8 after the first quarter and could not recover.

Gibault plays a pair of Catholic rivals this weekend, traveling Friday to Mater Dei before hosting Father McGivney on Saturday. 

Valmeyer (2-5) lost 67-39 last Tuesday to Sparta. Luke Blackwell scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Pirates won 43-41 at Marissa on Friday. Tanner Frierdich scored 14 points to pace Valmeyer. Blackwell chipped in four points and 12 rebounds before fouling out. 

 On Monday, Valmeyer suffered a 75-64 loss to Valley Park. Landon Roy scored 21 points and had six steals. Aiden Crossin added 19 points, with Blackwell contributing 10 points and 14 rebounds. 

The Pirates committed 31 turnovers in the loss.

Crossin is averaging 15.7 points per game this season. Roy is averaging 11.7 points per contest.

Dupo is 0-3 on the season following a 45-17 loss last Wednesday to Grandview.

Teegan Hargrove led the way with nine points for the Tigers, who played Tuesday at Mt. Olive, play Wednesday at Steeleville, host New Athens on Friday and host Valmeyer this coming Tuesday.