12/29/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
FREEBURG – Heading into their Sunday's night matchup against Waterloo in the title game of the 66th annual Freeburg/Columbia Holiday Tournament, head coach Mark Sandstrom and his Columbia Eagles knew that they needed to do well shooting the ball from the outside.

With Waterloo big man 6-10 senior Alex Stell roaming the lane, the Eagles needed outside offense.

They didn't get it.

Columbia hit just 8-of-28 shots from the 3-point line and just 13-of-42 overall.

That wasn't the formula for success this mentor was hoping for.

The Bulldogs held the Eagles to their lowest point total of the season in a 52-37 title game triumph.

Stell was dominant as he scored 24-points and grabbed 14-rebounds as the Illinois-Springfield college commit put and exclamation point on his tournament Most Valuable Player award.

“He (Stell) has a great touch, he's an awesome passer and he does a little bit of everything for us,” said Coach Siedle. “He is always looking to pass and help everyone else get better. When we need a bucket we got it to him and if they're doubling him then it left room for Max (Oswald) to drive in.”

The 3A team from the Mississippi Valley Conference improved to 14-2 for head coach Allen Siedle.

The Bulldogs raced out to an 8-2 lead and never trailed in the contest.

While Columbia struggled from the floor, Waterloo was more effective on the offensive end.

Stell led the way as they hit 18-of-32 from the field (56.2 percent) and added 5-of-14 from the arc and he was “Stell the one” in the lane, hitting 7-of-8 shots.

He also added a 3-pointer from the top of the circle as Waterloo led 15-7 after the first quarter.

Senior Max Oswald scored nine-points and junior Owen Niebrugge added eight-points for the Bulldogs.

A 3-pointer from Niebrugge in the first quarter was part of an early run for the Bulldogs.

“We came out a bit sluggish in this tournament but tonight against a rival like Columbia, they came out ready to play,” said Coach Siedle. “When you have a guy like Alex (Stell) in the middle it gives the other guys freedom to get out and guard a little more tighter.”

The leading scorer for Columbia was 6-6 junior Eddie Smajic with 11-points.

Six-eight senior forward Sam Donald was held to just six-points, 11 under his season average, for the Eagles.

The Eagles did make some inroads into the Waterloo lead, cutting the margin down to 17-15 in the second quarter following 3-point scores by senior guard River Randall and senior forward Micah James along with a fast break lay in by senior Brody Landgraf that forced a Waterloo timeout with 3:15 left in the half.

But Stell scored inside and Niebrugge added points in the paint as Waterloo led 22-17 at the break.

“For us that (outside shooting) was part of our plan tonight because they have 6-10 in the middle and it made it hard for us to attack inside,” said Coach Sandstrom. “We were 3-of-16 in the first half (from the 3-point line). “If we're 5-of-16 then we have the lead at half. I thought we did a good job in the first half getting what we wanted, we had shooters out on the floor. We didn't make them.”

(CONTINUED)

A 3-point bomb from Smajic opened the second half scoring which cut the lead down to just one possession for Columbia.

But an 8-2 run, highlighted by a Stell dunk and two 3-pointers from sophomore Tyler DeVilder, made it 30-22.

Another long range score from Randall got the Eagles back to within 32-30 before the final points of the quarter came on an offensive rebound put-back by Niebrugge and another rim rattling dunk by Stell as the game went to the fourth quarter with Waterloo up 36-30.

An 8-3 run from the Bulldogs to begin the fourth quarter was the beginning of the end for Columbia.

Consecutive scores by Stell and two drives to the basket by Oswald gave Waterloo a 44-33 lead with 5:03 remaining.

“Our guys answered their runs and we took the best shots possible,” said Coach Siedle.

Free throw shooting wasn't an issue for the Bulldogs as Columbia sent them to the line in the final minutes and Coach Siedle's squad put the championship trophy on ice.

A conventional three-point play by Stell off a lob pass started a 5-of-6 free throw parade by the senior center that made winners of the Bulldogs.

Waterloo excelled when it counted most, hitting their first four field goal attempts before reserves from both benches played out the final minute.

Randall scored eight-points for Columbia as did Landgraf before fouling out.

DeVilder's two 3-pointers were his six-point contribution while junior Reid Metzger finished with three-points.

Columbia has work to do heading into the heart of the Cahokia Conference season while Waterloo, who started the year off with consecutive losses, are on a 14-game win streak heading into MVC play.

“We don't have a lot of team cohesiveness right now,” said Coach Sandstrom. “We have a lot of really good athletes and basketball players but right now we really need to work on our structure. We need to make sure that we all gel together. We have a lot of work to do.”

CIVIC MEMORIAL 66, FREEBURG 49
The Midgets couldn't survive 26-turnovers and a 19-of-51 shooting performance and fell in the third place game.

Coach Dakota Street's club dropped to 5-8 on the season as Civic Memorial improved to 8-6 for head coach Lee Green.

The Eagles were paced by 18-points from senior guard Adam Ogden and 14-points from senior August Frankford.

Junior guard Charlie Kilpatrick added 12-points for Civic Memorial as they took the lead midway through the first quarter and never let the Midgets back in the contest.

Freeburg was its own worst enemy, coughing up 26-turnovers, 13 of which came in the first frame as they trailed 20-5 at the horn.

The field goal shooting wasn't any better as the Midgets were just 19-of-51 overall, 2-of-8 from the 3-point line.

Civic Memorial was much better from the floor as they connected on 23-of-47 overall, 5-of-12 from the arc.

If the Eagles had been more efficient from the foul line, the game would have ended up with a continuous clock.

CM hit just 14-of-31 charities.

Freeburg was topped in scoring by 6-3 senior Robert Fritz with 13-points and sophomore Gentry Brentlinger with 10.

Civic Memorial produced what turned out to be a game-changing first quarter run.

Actually two runs.

Each of the runs were 10-0 as they took control with Kilpatrick scoring eight of his points in the quarter.

Five of the baskets came off of Freeburg turnovers as the Midgets were in trouble.

Kilpatrick and junior Tanner Hokamp hit 3-pointers in the second quarter and Frankfort scored on consecutive drives to the basket as the lead was 39-25 at the half.

Brentlinger hit a 3-point shot during the third quarter for Freeburg and freshman Joe Carmack scored during a run that got the hosts back to within 49-37 at the end of the third quarter.

Scores late in the fourth quarter by senior Matt Pluff and Carmack cut the Civic Memorial advantage to just 57-49 with 2:28 remaining.

That was the end of the rally as the Eagles closed out the game with long 3-pointer with the shot clock running down and a fast break dunk by junior forward Riley Lamb sealed the deal in the third place contest.

In other games the fifth place game was won by Imperial (MO.) Seckman who defeated Nelson County (KY.) 75-28 and the seventh place game was won by Riverview Gardens (MO.) 47-46 over Alton Marquette.