Columbia’s Drew Huebner (center) pulls down an offensive rebound against Triad. He was named tourney MVP. (Corey Saathoff photo)

The Columbia boys basketball team improved to 11-0 on the season with a 48-34 win over Triad in the championship game of the Columbia-Freeburg Holiday Tournament played Wednesday night at Columbia High School.

The Eagles relied on their trademark tough defense to take a commanding early lead, forcing turnovers in bunches with steals and blocked shots. Columbia led 10-5 after one quarter and appeared set to run away with it following a Drew Huebner bucket that put the team up 20-9 at about three minutes remaining in the first half.

But Triad stayed in the thick of it thanks to some long-range accuracy. Triad junior sharpshooter Noah Moss nailed a trifecta at the second quarter buzzer to cut Columbia’s lead to 22-16 at halftime.

Triad brought that momentum out of the locker room and put a scare into the home crowd Columbia faithful, sinking more three-pointers in the third quarter. Another basket from beyond the arc by Moss put Triad up 31-30 heading into the final frame.

But the Eagles found their wings in the fourth, going on an 18-3 run to close out the game and claim their second straight Columbia-Freeburg Holiday Tournament title. Huebner keyed the rally with two big offensive rebound putbacks, the second one coming early in the fourth when he was fouled. Huebner hit the free throw to put Columbia back up at 33-31, and the Eagles never looked back.

Huebner, who was named tourney MVP, led the Eagles with 16 points. Ryan Gudeman added 11 points for Columbia.

Gudeman joined Huebner on the all-tourney team, as did teammates Jonny Holmes and Korbin Farmer.

“When you hold a team in the 30s, you have a pretty good chance to win,” Columbia head coach Mark Sandstrom said. “These guys have been through the battles and they knew we were in a meat grinder. I’m pretty proud of them.”

The tourney title marked the second this season for the Eagles, having won the Thanksgiving tourney at Lebanon. The team’s 11-0 start is the best since the 1958-59 season, when Columbia finished 29-2 and won a district title.

“The biggest thing is we’re undefeated at the New Year,” Sandstrom said. “We still have a lot of room for improvement, which we’ll get there. We have a great group of kids that work extremely hard. They’re basketball smart.”

For a short video showing the final seconds of Wednesday’s victory, click here.

Waterloo drops heartbreaker to Marquette

Waterloo’s Ben Huels launches a shot under the hoop against Marquette.  (Alan Dooley photo)

The Marquette Explorers dealt Waterloo a heartbreaking defeat in the consolation championship played Wednesday afternoon. Shandon Boone drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Marquette a dramatic 51-49 win.

The final seconds saw Marquette try to get the ball inbounds, calling timeout twice, before inbounding ball with seconds left and trailing 49-48.

The game was a physical but clean contest all the way, with players from both teams sprawling on the floor numerous times.

Waterloo led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Bulldogs looked like they might open the contest up when they went on an eight-point run to take a 31-26 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Marquette fought back in the third quarter and the two squads went into the final frame knotted at 40-40.

Dylan Hunt scored 21 points to lead the Bulldogs. Ben Huels added 15 points and was named to the all-tourney team.

Valmeyer falls to Lebanon

The Valmeyer Pirates dropped to 2-12 on the season with a 54-50 loss to Lebanon to end their play in this year’s holiday tournament. Trent Larsen, Vaughn Larsen and Owen Miller scored 10 points each for Valmeyer.

For an earlier tourney recap, click here.