Hoops history was made Sunday night in Freeburg.

The Waterloo High School boys basketball squad took down rival Columbia, 52-37, to capture the program’s first ever Freeburg-Columbia Holiday Tournament championship.

The tourney has been played since 1957.

“It was a great win for our homegrown players and exciting for the community,” Waterloo head coach Allen Siedle said. “When you do something for the first time in program history, it’s an awesome achievement.” 

The Bulldogs (14-2) were led in the tournament by 6-foot-10 senior Alex Stell, who was not surprisingly named tourney MVP.

Stell, a University of Illinois-Springfield commit, scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the win over the Eagles.

His presence was the reason Columbia opted to shoot mostly from long range on the night, and that did not work out well. The Eagles shot 31 percent from the floor, including just 8-for-28 from three-point range.

“We were led by the most dominant player in the area, Alex Stell,” Siedle said. “I think he proved that in this tournament. No other player is asked to do more than him and he was the best player on the floor every night.”

Waterloo started the game on an 8-0 run, getting the half of the Freeburg gym dressed in orange and black excited early. Stell connected on a three-pointer late in the first quarter, and the Bulldogs led 15-7 after that opening frame. 

The Eagles mustered a comeback in the second quarter, getting a three-pointer from Micah James at the midway point and a layup by Brody Landgraf to make it a 17-15 lead for the ‘Dogs. But Waterloo weathered that storm to take a 22-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The rivalry showdown got as close as three points with three minutes left in the third quarter as Columbia’s Eddie Smajic – a highly touted junior transfer from Vianney – nailed a three-pointer to cut Waterloo’s lead to 30-27.

With the Bulldogs up by four points, a thunderous dunk by Stell extended Waterloo’s lead to 36-30 after three quarters and had Bulldog fans smelling victory. 

Another dunk, this one by Max Oswald, also rocked the gym and put Waterloo up 41-30 at 6:17 of the fourth quarter.

A Landgraf three-pointer kept Columbia in the game for the last time at 44-36 with just more than three and a half minutes remaining, but Waterloo pulled away from there.

In addition to Stell, Oswald and Reid Metzger made the all-tourney team for Waterloo. 

Siedle also pointed to the play of Trent Glaenzer on defense and the shooting of sophomore Tyler DeVilder. 

“It’s exciting to see the young player play at such a high level,” Siedle said.

Key minutes were also provided by Owen Niebruegge, Griffin Stork and Luke Gilbert off the bench, Siedle added.

On Saturday evening, the ‘Dogs reached the tourney final by virtue of a 64-47 win over Freeburg. Stell had a triple-double with 34 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks. Oswald contributed 16 points and nine rebounds. Metzger added 13 points. 

Earlier on Saturday, it was a 45-35 victory for Waterloo over Marquette. Stell had 20 points and 20 rebounds. DeVilder added 11 points.

Waterloo opened tourney play with a 66-53 win over Nelson County (Ky.) on Friday. Stell had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Metzger made six three-pointers and finished with 22 points. 

Waterloo has now won 14 straight games. 

Stell is averaging 22.6 points, 14.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per contest on the season. He’s shooting 80 percent from the free throw line.

Oswald, a 6-foot-5 senior, is averaging 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Columbia (11-3) reached the final by edging past Seckman on Saturday, 46-45. Smajic led the way with 18 points, with Sam Donald contributing 10 points, five rebounds and six assists. The Eagles were outrebounded 22-19.

On Friday night, it was a 78-36 win for the Eagles over Riverview Gardens. Donald had 29 points and 11 rebounds. James added 17 points – including 5-for-5 shooting from three-point land. Smajic scored 15 points, knocking down four three-pointers.

The Eagles opened tourney play with a 50-40 win over Civic Memorial. Donald, a 6-foot-8 senior who has committed to playing at Bellarmine University, had 14 points and eight rebounds. James added 11 points.

Donald and Smajic were both named to the all-tourney team for the Eagles, who will battle Principia at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Highland Optimist Shootout. 

Donald is averaging 16.5 points and seven rebounds per game this season.

Other tourney action

Valmeyer (6-6) won the second annual Piasa Southwestern Holiday Tournament played over the weekend. 

The Pirates won 58-32 over Dupo on Saturday. Aiden Crossin, who surpassed 1,000 career points at the tourney, led the Pirates with 18 points. Landon Roy scored 17 points and Chase Snyder added 10 points for Valmeyer, which shot 60 percent from the floor.

On Friday night, it was a 66-63 victory over tourney host Piasa Southwestern in overtime. The Pirates led by seven after three quarters. Roy and Snyder each scored 23 points for Valmeyer, with Crossin adding 18 points.

Valmeyer opened its tourney slate with a 72-69 win over SIUE Charter early on Friday. Crossin poured in 25 points, with Roy contributing 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Gavin Rau added 15 points.

Crossin is averaging 16.1 points and 2.8 steals per game on the season. Roy is averaging 15.6 points and 2.7 steals per game.

Valmeyer plays Friday at New Athens, then hosts Father McGivney on Monday.

Dupo (1-7) also lost to Piasa Southwestern at the Piasa tourney, with Kaden Scheppelman scoring 27 points for the Tigers. Dupo picked up its first win in two years with a 71-66 victory over SIUE Charter on Friday.

Gibault (3-10) lost three of four games at the Mater Dei Christmas Tournament.

The Hawks closed out their tourney slate with 49-38 win over McCluer on Monday. 

On Saturday, Gibault lost 46-36 to Christ Our Rock. Ryan Biffar scored 13 points for the Hawks.

On Friday, it was a 64-33 loss for Gibault to Metro East Lutheran. The Hawks shot just 32.5 percent from the floor and committed 23 turnovers.

Gibault opened the tourney with a 48-37 loss to Mater Dei. Biffar, who leads the Hawks in scoring at 10.3 points per game, scored 12 points. 

Gibault plays this coming Tuesday at Wesclin.