High school boys basketball is underway. The season started with many holiday tip-off tournaments.

Gibault, Dupo and Valmeyer competed in the Metro-East Lutheran Thanksgiving Turkey Tip-Off last week.

Gibault made it through pool play and the semifinals undefeated before taking second place in the championship game on Saturday.

The Hawks fell to host Metro-East Lutheran, 53-52, in overtime of the title match.

Trevor Davis led Gibault with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four steals and three assists. Jacob Rueter had 10 points and led the team with five assists. Colin Kessler scored 11, Brian Deterding added 10, Garrett Rueter scored three and Ryan Gool finished with two.

Gibault earned a trip to the final with four straight wins to start the season.

The Hawks beat Christ Our Rock, 64-34, last Monday. Jacob Rueter led the way with 17 points.

Gibault then beat Bunker Hill, 69-42, on Wednesday night. Davis and Deterding each scored 20 points in the win.

Gibault played two games on Friday. In the quarterfinals, the Hawks defeated Gillespie, 69-47. Davis led the team with 26 points and Deterding followed with 19.

The Hawks then played Alton Marquette in the semifinals later in the day, winning 49-45. The Deterding-Davis duo continued to lead the way. Deterding finished with 20 points and Davis followed with seven.

Gibault (4-1) hosts Madison at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Hawks’ home opener.

Dupo finished the tournament with four losses.

The Tigers fell to Staunton, 46-32, last Monday. Tony Cozart led the way with 11 points and Austin Francis followed with seven.

Gillespie got the best of Dupo last Tuesday, winning 65-51.

The Tigers’ closest game of the tournament was to Christ Our Rock on Friday.

Dupo fell 54-50. Francis led the team with 17 points. Michael Overbay had 11 points and Cozart added 10.

Dupo wrapped up the tourney with a 53-32 loss to Marissa on Saturday. Cozart led the Tigers with 10 points; Francis and Cody Richardson followed with seven points a piece.

Valmeyer also left the tournament without a win, although Michael Chism made his mark on the offense.

The Pirates opened up the tournament with a 63-34 loss on Monday. Chism led the team with 14 points. Vaughn Larsen followed with seven.

Valmeyer fell to Odin, 55-51, last Tuesday. Chism led the team with 25 points. Owen Miller put up 12 points.

Wood River got the best of Valmeyer with a 59-39 win on Friday. Chism continued his high offensive output with 11 points. Miller followed with eight.

Valmeyer just missed a win on Saturday, falling to New Athens, 36-35.

Chism led all scorers with 18 points while also bringing down 10 rebounds.

Larsen followed with five points and three assists.

In non-tourney play, Valmeyer lost to Kennedy on Monday, 41-29. Chism led the team with 10 points and was followed by Larsen with seven. The Pirates (0-5) travel to Lebanon on Dec. 8.

Waterloo hosted its Battling Bulldogs Thanksgiving Tournament this past week.

The team fell to 0-4 on the young season.

Waterloo opened the tourney with a 50-44 loss to Althoff last Monday night. Ben Huels led the ‘Dogs with 17 points and seven rebounds. Griffin Lenhardt followed with 11 points.

The Bulldogs lost to O’Fallon, 65-36, last Tuesday. Huels led the team with 16 points. Dylan Hunt followed with eight points.

Waterloo fell to Edwardsville, 73-41, on Friday. Hunt led the team with 17 points while Huels finished with 15.

The ‘Dogs finished the tourney with a 73-56 loss to Carbondale on Saturday.

Huels led the way with 19 points, Hunt scored 12, Lenhardt added 11 and Ross Schrader finished with 10.

Waterloo plays at Jerseyville on Friday in search of a win.

Columbia started its season with a gutsy win on Saturday as part of the Lebanon tournament.

The Eagles beat conference foe Wesclin, 58-48. Columbia had trouble with Wesclin’s defensive pressure early, trailing 33-23 after the first half. Korbin

Farmer kept the team in it early, scoring all 12 of the Eagles’ first quarter points.

Columbia forced turnovers and cut the lead to 42-40 heading into the third quarter. Ryan Gudeman hit a big three-pointer to put Columbia up 47-43 with five minutes left in the game. The Eagles took care of business after that.

Farmer led the team with 18 points, six steals and eight rebounds. Jordan Holmes added 15 points and four assists. Drew Huebner scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. Gudeman scored nine points, Jonathan Holmes finished with three and Greg Long scored two.

The Eagles continued the tournament with a game against host team Lebanon on Tuesday.