The game was close most of the way. St. Anthony owned a slim 31-28 edge entering the fourth quarter. Brady Hatton grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to make it a five-point margin, but Altamont’s Aiden McManaway hit a three-pointer and followed that with a short jumper to knot the game at 33-33 with 2:49 to play.

The lead went back-and-forth over the next 90 seconds. A free throw by Brock Fearday put SAHS up by one, but McManaway drilled another three to give the Indians a two-point edge, their first lead of the game. Then Hatton scored for the Bulldogs, Kade Milleville made a pair of foul shots for the Indians and Fearday knocked down a jumper in the lane to put St. Anthony on top, 38-37, with 57 seconds left.

The Indians then had a turnover, giving the ball back to the hosts. Fearday was fouled with 23 seconds to go. He made the first shot, but missed the second. The Bulldogs grabbed the rebound, however, and Westendorf was foul at the 21-second mark. He, too, made one of two foul shots giving St. Anthony a three-point advantage.

The Indians called timeout and set up a play for a game-tying shot. It was executed well. Kaden Davis, who had already connected on three shots from behind the arc, got a good look from the corner. It was just a little off-target. Schmidt grabbed the rebound and made the clinching free throw.

“We got a great shot,” Niebrugge noted. “That’s what the timeout was for. We executed the play and Aiden made a great skip pass. We got the shot we wanted. Sometimes, the ball just doesn’t go in.”

As the low score indicates, the ball didn’t go in a whole lot for either team the entire contest.

The Bulldogs defense forced 13 first-half turnovers. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led 10-5 after the first eight minutes. It was just a two-point advantage, 16-14, when SAHS got a bucket from Hatton, a pair of foul shots by Schmidt and another short jumper from Fearday to close out the half on a 6-0 run and take a 22-14 lead to the locker room.

“We became too reliant on our shooting rather than running our stuff and relying on what has taken us this far,” Rincker said.

Altamont’s defense was also a factor. The Indians mixed a Triangle-and-2 with a 2-3 zone and had the Bulldogs out of sync the entire game.

“We played more zone tonight than I’ve ever played,” Niebrugge explained. “We tried to make their non-scorers shoot as much as possible. I thought our boys executed that to a T.”

The Triangle-and-2 focused on containing Schmidt, the Bulldogs leading scorer. In that scheme, McManaway was assigned to guarding him.

“Aiden is the guy that guards the best players on the other team,” Niebrugge added. “He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever had. Schmidt had 14 points, but he earned every one of them. Aiden did a phenomenal job.”

It looked like St. Anthony might pull away in the third quarter. Max Koenig hit a jumper and Schmidt scored after grabbing an offensive rebound to put the Bulldogs ahead by double digits, 26-15. But Davis responded with back-to-back threes, getting the Indians to within five, 26-21.

The two teams traded baskets the rest of the third period. When Alec Jahraus converted a Bulldogs turnover into a basket in the final seconds, Altamont was within three points, 31-28, setting the stage for the exciting finish.

“I felt like we got complacent at times,” Rincker said. “We didn’t continue to move the ball or our bodies. And, we obliged them by shooting some quick, early threes that we were missing.

“But hats off to John and his team,” Rincker added. “They played with great energy and great effort tonight. His kids have really grown and developed this season. They played very well tonight.”

McManaway finished with 10 points to lead the Indians, who are now 18-8 overall. They made 13-of-40 shots, a 33 percent clip. They were 6-for-20 from three-point range and 5-for-9 at the foul line. They finished with 18 turnovers.

“This game could be a springboard for us the next two weeks,” Niebrugge said. “Even down an arm and a leg, we took the No. 1 team in the state on their home floor down to the wire. I’m really proud of these kids.”

Fearday led all scorers with 16 points and Schmidt added 14. The Bulldogs shot 38 percent overall, connecting on 17-of-44 attempts. They were 1-for-8 from long range and 6-for-10 at the foul line. They turned the ball over 16 times, but held a 30-22 rebounding edge. Fearday made it a double-double performance by pulling down 10 boards, while Schmidt had 9.

The Bulldogs, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A, improved to 27-4 on the season. They will return to action Monday in an opening-round game of the Bethany (Okaw Valley) Regional. The top-seeded Bulldogs will play that first game at home against No. 15 Ramsey. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

“I just told the boys the regular season chapter is now closed,” Rincker said. “Starting tomorrow, everything is new. It’s a brand new season.”