After three quarters of the championship game at Hillsboro’s 69th Gene Steighorst Tournament Dec. 14, Seckman’s Sam Guethle had seven points – the margin his Jaguars held over the host Hawks on the scoreboard (44-37).
But in the final eight minutes, the sophomore guard lit up that board like a holiday display, pouring in 16 points in a 20-6 run that secured Seckman’s first-ever Steighorst championship, 64-43.
Guethle, who wears the number 0 and was playing on a gimpy ankle, finished with a game-high 23 points on perfect eight-for-eight shooting from the field, including five 3-point baskets. Six other Jaguars scored, with junior forward Rodney Lightle logging 16 points, also on flawless shooting (six-for-six from the floor, two-for-two on free throws).
“I’ve got a lot of trust in my teammates,” Guethle said. “And they trust me. They gave me the confidence. They kept telling me, ‘The next one’s going in.’ Our coach wanted us to turn it on defensively and I feel like that energy translated into offense and that’s when we exploded.”
Seckman, whose previous best finish at this tournament was second place in 2012, beat Northwest 60-37 and Festus 55-40 in the first two rounds for an average margin of victory in the three games of 19 points. The Jaguars improved to 3-1, their best start since going 4-0 to open the 2021-2022 season. It was the first loss of 2024-2025 for Hillsboro, also 3-1.
“This one means a lot,” Seckman head coach Aaron Carroll said. “We graduated four really good seniors. This group came together and said we have to play hard and together. We have to share the ball.
“Sam rolled his ankle last week. We tried to take care of it and nurse it. He didn’t play or shoot the ball for a little bit. He’s one of our best kids in practice, and I just knew it was time.
“Once he heats up, he’s going to be really tough.”
After senior guard Easton Day made a pair of field goals to give the Hawks a brief lead at 19-16 in the second quarter, Seckman scored the next six points, capped by Lightle draining a 3-pointer to give the Jags the lead for good at 22-19. Later in the quarter, Seckman senior guard Keagan Heitert turned a steal into a bucket, Lightle made two free throws and the Jags led 27-21. They increased the advantage to 33-24 at halftime.
Heitert finished with seven points, followed by sophomore Brayden Holdenreid and senior Sam Wason with five each and four apiece from junior Henry Guethle, Sam’s brother, and junior Cooper Hoog, who fouled out in the fourth quarter.
“They are very tough,” Hillsboro head coach DJ Hardy said. “They play pretty much five guards, they handle the ball really well, they make a lot of good decisions. They go play. They’ve got great energy and were more physically and mentally tough than we were.”
A big part of Seckman’s defensive game plan was to keep Hawk senior forward Greg Robinson from taking over the game inside. Robinson entered the tournament scoring 24 points per game and averaged a double-double in scoring and rebounding last season. He’s one of the top players in the Jefferson County Activities Association.
But at halftime, Robinson was scoreless and had two fouls. A Lightle 3-ball in the third quarter extended that lead to 40-28. Robinson went to work with a slam dunk, an old-fashioned 3-point play and another free throw in a 9-4 Hawk run.
Early in the fourth, a Sam Guethle trey made it a 47-37 lead and he turned it on from there.
“They were being physical with (Robinson) and pushing him out of his spots,” Hardy said. “And when he was fighting for position, our guards weren’t giving him the ball. We have a very me-type attitude right now that we’re going to have to fix.”
“It’s a team thing,” Carroll said. “Sam Wason did a hell of a job on (Robinson). Cooper came off the bench; (so did) Rodney and (junior Seth) Maxwell. We wanted to be physical with him. We wanted to bang with him. We talked about it before the game, all five have to be there. If we’re going to three-quarter front him and push him and give the lob over the top, the backside needs to be there. That’s a collective thing to do.”
In the win over the Tigers, Sam Guethle drained six 3-pointers and scored 26 points to go with five rebounds and five steals. He said he’s excited about where the season is headed.
“We’ve got great chemistry (and a) great coaching staff, and I feel like we’re changing the culture of Seckman basketball,” he said.
In a 70-60 shootout win over Windsor (4-3) in the first round, Robinson poured in 29 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and swatted away four shots. Junior guard Cooper McGrath had five assists and six steals. The Hawks reached the final after escaping with a 60-59 win over Rockwood Summit (2-2).
“The first game we didn’t play well,” Hardy said. “The second game, we had one good quarter, and tonight we didn’t play great. We were fortunate to come out of here 2-1, especially with the way we played offensively. Defense was decent. Offensively, we’ve got a lot to work on.”
Seckman hosted Oakville on Tuesday, after the Leader deadline, and visits Fox (1-5) Friday for the annual C-6 showdown.
“This was one of our goals for the season and we’ll celebrate tonight, but when we wake up (Sunday) morning, Oakville prep starts. That’s part of the fun of high school,” Carroll said.
Hillsboro hosted Perryville on Tuesday and visits Windsor Friday for a JCAA large-schools showdown.