The Colmone Classic is the only place for Princeton and Bureau Valley basketball fans have to watch their teams play out their rivalry this year.

They sure got their money’s worth Saturday at Hall High School.

Bureau Valley freshman Carson Gruber hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of regulation to force one overtime period, only to have Princeton senior Ryan Jagers hit one of his own to extend the game to a second OT.

The Tigers overcame an early 3-point Storm lead in the second OT, outscoring BV 10-5 in the final two minutes to earn an 86-83 thriller.

Princeton coach Jason Smith, who previously coached at Bureau Valley, said it was the kind of game you expect between the rival Tigers and Storm.

“Both teams go at it and play hard,” Smith said. “It was just two competitive teams going at it, and some team had to win and some team had to lose. Fortunately we got the win.”

BV coach Jason Marquis was glad to get to play the Tigers again at the Colmone Classic since they are no longer scheduled to meet.

“It’s nice we get to play it over here at Hall. Appreciate the opportunity to donate all that gate to another school other than ours,” he said.

Two-time defending champion Fieldcrest opened its title defense with a 70-40 win over newcomer Galva in the first game of the day.

Hall opened with a 54-36 against Rock Falls in the Red Pool opener while Mendota downed St. Bede 88-64 in the nightcap in the Black Pool.

The tournament resumes Monday with Bureau Valley playing IVC at 5 p.m. and Putnam County vs. Rock Falls at 8 p.m.

Princeton 86, Bureau Valley 83: The freshman Gruber introduced himself to the Colmone Classic crowd with a game-high 37 points, believed to be a freshman tournament record. It was his 3-pointer at the end of regulation that was the big one and gave the Storm new life.

“It’s nice to see him show up in some big moments,” Marquis said. “That’s what happens when you put that much time in the gym. Those shots where all us spectators see in big moments feel like a lot of other shots taken in the empty gym. There was never a question among his teammates or coaches that he belongs and now others are going to realize it, too.”

The Storm jumped to a 72-66 with just one under a minute left in the first OT. The Tigers rallied with two free throws each by Jack Oester and Jackson Mason before Jagers buried a game-tying 3-pointer from the left corner for another OT.

Princeton freshman Julian Mucha sparked the Tigers in the second OT with six points, including back-to-back scoring drives with a left-handed finish and a reverse layup to give the Tigers an 85-79 edge with less than 40 seconds to play.

Gruber hit 1-2 free throws and then a 3-pointer with 6.7 left to make it 86-83, but the Storm got no closer.

“Just a lot of grit from our guys,” Smith said.

Disappointed with the loss, Marquis was pleased how hard his Storm played.

“Hard things are good learning experiences. Have to find a way to take something that’s disappointing in the moment and find good in it,” Marquis said.

The Tigers (2-4), who led as much as 13 points at 52-39 late in the third, placed five in double figures with Mason netting 19, Mucha and Jagers scoring 17 each, Gavin Lanham 14 and Oester 11.

Gruber netted his 37 on 12 of 29 shooting from the field (9-23 on 3s) while Logan Philhower and Ryan Birkey had 10 each for the Storm (0-4), who opened up a 13-2 lead to start the game.

Hall 54, Rock Falls 35: On a night the Red Devils “stunk,” Hall coach Mike Filippini said their defense shined.

“We struggled, missing a lot of easy shots. Normally we’re a better 3-point shooting team than that,” Filippini said. “We talked about how good teams win with their defense. We gave up 35 points in a varsity basketball game. We’re really happy with that. They’re playing their butts off on defense.”

The Red Devils (4-1) placed two in double figures with Braden Curran (16) and Chace Sterling (12) with Noah Plym chipping in nine.

Cooper South led the Rockets (1-6) with nine points.

Mendota 88, St. Bede 64: The Trojans built a 40-24 halftime lead on the way to the 24-point victory.

The Tillman brothers led the high-charged Trojans offense with 39 points between them with Cole netting 21 and Aden 18. Also for Mendota, Dane Doyle had 14 points and Oliver Munoz 13.

“I thought we came out with really good defensive intensity,” Mendota coach Steve Wasmer said. “We shared the ball really well at times and were able to speed the game up which was a point of emphasis. And we were able to find Aden Tillman for some open 3s. That makes us pretty hard to defend when he’s making shots. And our guys do a great job of finding him.

“I got to see St. Bede (Friday) and Coach (Brian) Hanson has them playing really hard so I knew it was going to be a battle. They are gonna win a lot of games because of that.”

St. Bede’s Gino Ferrari led all scorers with 22 points while Gus Burr had 16 and Geno Dinges chipped in 11.

The Bruins (4-2) will return to action at 5 p.m. Tuesday vs. Eureka with the Trojans (3-1) to face the Hornets at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Fieldcrest 70, Galva 40: Kash Klendworth scored 21 points, Eli Gerdes had 17 and Layten Gerdes added 15 as the Knights rolled in Saturday’s opener.

The Knights (3-0) will take on Kewanee at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.