Two local high school boys basketball squads ended their seasons on Monday, while another lives to play another day. 

Two others begin regional play Wednesday night. 

In Class 1A, Gibault (12-18) pulled off a thrilling 56-54 overtime victory at home over Sesser-Valier.  The Hawks will now play Wednesday night in Sparta against Woodlawn for a berth in Friday’s regional final.

The winner of the Sparta Regional advances to the Trico Sectional.

Gibault appeared to be cruising after three quarters on Monday, taking a 40-30 lead into the final frame. Sesser-Valier battled back to tie it at the end of regulation, however. 

With the game tied in the final seconds of the extra period, a missed shot by Gibault’s Jack Holston was rebounded by teammate Evan Niebruegge, who made the putback attempt before the buzzer for a Hawks win. 

Gibault has won six of its past seven games. 

On Thursday, the Hawks lost 50-25 to Marquette and shot under 28 percent from the floor.

The result was better last Tuesday at home against cross-town rival Waterloo. The Hawks pulled out a 40-39 win. 

Gibault trailed 18-15 at halftime, but made enough key shots late to secure victory. 

Colby Kincheloe led the Hawks with 12 points, followed by Oscar Gedris with 10 points. 

Holston leads Gibault in scoring this season at 12.4 points per game and is shooting 42.4 percent from three-point range. 

Kincheloe is averaging 11.7 points per game.

In other Class 1A regional action, Valmeyer (11-20) ended its season with a 69-47 loss Monday to Okawville. Evan Hill scored 14 points, with Tallen Jakimauskas contributing 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Pirates.

On Thursday, Valmeyer lost 51-40 to Maryville Christian to conclude regular season play. Gavin Rau scored 12 points before fouling out. Two other Pirates players also fouled out of this contest.

Last Tuesday, four Valmeyer players fouled out in a 67-57 loss at Lebanon. Hill scored 18 points, with Chase Snyder scoring 13 points and Jakimauskas adding 10 points with 11 rebounds. 

Hill, a junior, led Valmeyer in scoring this season at 14.7 points per game. 

Dupo (13-16) ended its season with a 73-21 loss at Nokomis in a Class 1A regional on Monday. 

On Thursday, the Tigers closed out their regular season with a 56-36 win over Wood River. Brrayden Esterlein, a senior, scored 25 points to pace Dupo. 

Last Tuesday, Dupo dropped a 56-23 contest to Steeleville. 

For the season, Esterlein led the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game. 

Next in scoring for the Tigers was junior Jacob Duncan at nearly 10 points per contest.

In Class 2A, Columbia (22-9) enters regional play having lost five of its past six contests.

The Eagles host Mater Dei on Wednesday night with the winner advancing to Friday’s regional final. Columbia topped Mater Dei back on Nov. 29, 62-50.

On Friday, Columbia ended regular season play with a 70-62 loss at Rochester. The Eagles led 18-11 after one quarter, but the Rockets went on a 24-12 run to close out the first half. 

Eddie Smajic led the Eagles with 18 points despite shooting just 1-for-9 from three-point range. Brody Landgraf added 16 points and 13 rebounds. 

Last Tuesday, Columbia won 48-41 at Freeburg. Landgraf scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Smajic scored 11 points and Kyle Chudd contributed 10 points.

Smajic, a senior, averages 20.8 points per game and is shooting 84 percent from the free throw line. 

Landgraf, also a senior, is averaging 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest.

Another senior, Chudd is averaging 8.2 points behind 51 percent three-point shooting and 84 percent from the charity stripe.

In Class 3A, Waterloo (5-26) faces East St. Louis at the Mascoutah Regional on Wednesday. The winner plays in the regional final Friday night. 

In last Tuesday’s loss at Gibault, the Bulldogs were led by Owen Niebruegge with 13 points and eight rebounds. 

On Friday, Waterloo closed out its season with a 56-49 loss at Highland. Kruz Latchem led Waterloo with 21 points. 

For the season, Tyler DeVilder leads Waterloo in scoring at 10.8 points per game. Latchem and Niebruegge are both averaging about nine points per contest.