Marquette Catholic Wins Columbia-Freeburg Tournament Title

The Explorers secured a 67-64 overtime victory to claim their seventh Columbia-Freeburg Tournament championship against No. 9-ranked Columbia.

Dec 30, 2025 11:36 AM Dec 30, 2025 11:57 AM

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Chase Jones. Columbia star player Eddie Smajic. COLUMBIA — Marquette Catholic High School’s boys basketball team posted a 67-64 overtime victory against No. 9-ranked Columbia on Monday night, Dec. 29, 2025, to claim the Columbia-Freeburg Tournament Championship.

The win marked Marquette’s 11th of the season and their seventh Columbia-Freeburg Tournament title, extending a rivalry with Columbia in the tournament where both teams won three championship matchups against each other until the Explorers won on Monday night to push the series in the tourney to 4-3 Marquette.

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Cam Golike added 15 points for Marquette in the title matchup. Eddie Smajic had 34 points for Columbia, while Brady Landgraf had 15 points.

The game was tightly contested on Monday from start to finish. Columbia led 12-9 after the first quarter, but Marquette edged ahead 24-23 by halftime. Columbia reclaimed a narrow 38-37 lead after three quarters, and Marquette rallied to tie the game at 55-55 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Marquette outscored Columbia 12-9 to clinch the championship.

Columbia's Kyle Chudd with the ball. Sophomore Chase Jones led the Explorers with 33 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team alongside teammates Carson Jones and Cam Golike.

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Marquette Catholic improved to 11-4 on the season, having won eight of its last nine games. Their next contest is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 6, at home against Hillsboro.

Head coach Steve Medford praised his team’s development in recent weeks, highlighting their growing patience and trust in one another.

“I think they are only scratching the surface on how good they could be," Medford said of his Explorers' squad. " I believe in these kids, and they have a lot of character and a lot of grit."

Medford also emphasized the team’s resilience in overtime.

“I am super proud of our resilience down the stretch and how we didn’t panic in overtime," he said. "The boys made plays for each other when it went into overtime. I knew there was no way we were not going to win with the way we were playing.”