STEELVILLE — Steelville High School’s boy’s basketball team played a pair of road games on Dec. 16 and Dec. 20 against Valley and Aurora, respectively. The Cardinals won both games and are now 4-4 on the season after starting the year 1-3.

Steelville will have a week off before competing in the 70th Annual Bob Sechrest Jr. Central Christmas Tournament in Park Hills. The Cardinals are seeded 14th and will play third-seeded Festus at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27, in the first round of the tournament. The rest of Steelville’s matchups in the tournament are TBD based on the results of the game against Festus. The Cardinals will then return to action on Jan. 9 at St. James. Steelville’s next home game is Jan. 14 against St. Clair. 

Dec. 16 vs. Valley

The Cardinals continued their almost-two-month stretch on the road and traveled to Valley on Dec. 16 to take on the 4-2 Vikings. Steelville was coming off a close 50-47 loss against West County on Dec. 13, but regained their scoring touch against Valley.

The first quarter was highly contested and Steelville was carried in the frame by Trentin Garrison, who scored seven of his 10 points in the quarter. Steelville ended the quarter down 12-11, but quickly turned things around in the second.

The Cardinals outscored the Vikings 19-12 in the second quarter to take a 30-24 lead heading into halftime. Steelville continued its offensive prowess in the third quarter and outscored Valley 18-12 in the frame to take a 48-36 lead going into the fourth quarter. But Valley didn’t lay down and made what appeared to be an easy Cuba win turn into a nailbiter. The Vikings outscored Steelville 21-13 in the fourth, but the Cardinals did enough to hold on to win 61-57 for their third victory of the season. 

Nate Gambill knocked down five shots from deep to lead the Cardinals with 15 points. Jackson Woods and Garrison each scored 10 to give Steelville three double-digit scorers. Malakai Bruno scored eight points, and shot a stellar six-for-seven from the free throw line. Hunter Starbeck scored seven and Will Bailey scored a trio of baskets from close range to finish with six points. Landon Rutledge knocked down three from the charity stripe and Blaze Alexander scored two to round out the scoring for the Cardinals. Noah Abney scored 18 and Blake Gillam added 17 points to lead the Vikings. 

Steelville head coach Josh Pritchett credited his team’s defensive intensity and Gambill’s shooting prowess as keys to the victory. 

“I think our defensive intensity was great from the start,” Pritchett said. “We did a good job pressuring the ball and forcing turnovers. Gambill did a great job for us hitting shots and helping our offense get going.”

JV Cardinals win at Valley

Steelville’s junior varsity team was also victorious in the first half of the evening’s games, defeating Valley 62-36 in convincing fashion. The Cardinals had three players score in double figures led by Trey Gambill who drained a trio of three-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points. Silas Evans scored 12 points and Cameron Wallis added 10, Carter Wallis chipped in eight points and Andrew Riley scored seven. 

Junior varsity head coach Roger Siwak spoke after the victory about how his young team is progressing this season.

“I’m proud of the progress we’re making. We’re working hard, making improvements on the boards and our defensive gaps,” Siwak said. “I am pleased by how much our guys pick each other up and care about each other.”

Both of Steelville’s teams had a few days off before traveling to Springfield to play Aurora at Evangel University.

Dec. 20 vs. Aurora

The Cardinals continued their recent strong play against Aurora while playing at Evangel University.

The game was close early as both teams came out firing on offense. Steelville led 25-20 after the first quarter. The Cardinals were then up 35-28 in the waning second of the second quarter when Alexander stole the ball and quickly whipped it ahead to Garrison, who scored on a layup, giving Steelville a 37-28 lead heading into halftime.

Steelville asserted its dominance in the third quarter, outscoring Aurora 17-4 in the frame to take a commanding 52-32 lead heading into the fourth. The Cardinals took care of business in the fourth quarter and were able to enjoy the long bus ride home from Springfield with a 66-51 victory. This was Steelville’s fourth win and third in its last four games.

The Cardinals received four double-digit scoring efforts for the first time this season. Woods played a strong all around game, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Starbeck played his best game of the season and continuously finished around the basket to score a season and career-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds and two steals. Garrison scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and snagged a team-high four steals. Bruno added 10 points and three rebounds.

Rutledge was all over the glass, grabbing seven offense rebounds and 13 total rebounds to go along with five points. Gambill drained a three-pointer in the second quarter and Bailey knocked down a free throw to complete the Cardinals’ scoring.

Steelville’s junior varsity team fell 52-28 in the first game of the day against Aurora and is now 1-3 on the year.