Althoff returning to state basketball tournament with gritty win over physical Teutopolis

The Althoff Catholic basketball team is headed to IHSA Class 2A tournament for the first time since 2016.

Althoff (31-5) punched its ticket to state thanks to a gritty 48-37 win over the physical and disciplined Teutopolis Wooden Shoes in a Class 2A Supersectional at Banterra Center on the Southern Illinois University campus in Carbondale Monday night.

Top-seeded Althoff will face Chicago Christ The King in a Class 2A semifinal on Thursday at 2 p.m. at State Farm Center in Champaign on the University of Illinois campus. The other Class 2A semifinal game pits Chicago Dyett against Peoria Manual. The winners of those two games will play for the state title Saturday at 3 p.m.

Getting past Teutopolis was a combination of joy and relief for Althoff coach Greg Leib.

“Chester Reeder does a great job at Teutopolis and he had his kids ready,” Leib said. “We just grinded it out and were able to get some separation at the end.”

Teutopolis held the Crusaders held a 6-4 lead at the end of a grind-it-out half-court first quarter of the game.

But the Crusaders’ offense got going thanks to Dierre Hill and Zac Winkeler.

Hill knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets, and Winkeler sank a layup to key an 8-2 second-quarter run, which put the Crusaders ahead 20-15 at the half.

Down 29-27 late in the third quarter, Teutopolis’s Alex Kremer, who had 19 points on the night, dropped in a back-door basket to force a 29-29 tie heading into the fourth quarter.

Down three early in the fourth quarter, Teutopolis tied it at 32-32 on a Mick Niebruegge 3-pointer with 6:45 left to go.

Then in the final four minutes, Hill took over. Hill knocked down a jumper then converted on a foul opportunity to extend the lead to 42-34 with 3:12 left. Hill’s clutch surge put the Crusaders in control.

“It was good (to get those plays),” Hill said. “We knew we had to stay together and make shots and play to our potential. We know in the playoff run, with each game, each team gets a little harder and we stuck with the plan and executed as a team.”

Hill paced the Crusaders with a game-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the floor.

Althoff Catholic locked down and held Teutopolis to just three points in the game’s final minutes.

“We knew that was the last 16 minutes and two games left to go to the state championship, and we put all right on the line right there,” Althoff guard Bryden Gryzmala said.

Leib is looking forward to taking his club back to state for the first time since Jordan Goodwin, currently a member of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, led the Crusaders to the title in 2016. It was Belleville’s first state championship in 100 years of high school basketball. Belleville West subsequently won back-to-back titles.

“I just think it’s a fun event,” Leib said. “We haven’t been back there since 2016, and it’s hard to get up there and you’ve got to be a little lucky.”

Teutopolis saw its season end at 24-11.

This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 9:16 PM.