Centennial owned a three-point lead, 29-26, two minutes into the fourth period. But Croy hit a jumper and Griffin Sehy connected on a three to put the Bulldogs on top, 31-29. The lead would change hands four more times. The final time was after another bucket by Croy to put SAHS ahead, 35-34, at the 3:18 mark.

Neither team scored for nearly two minutes, but Max Koenig made it a four-point spread, 38-34, when he drilled a three from the corner with 1:26 still left.

Kellen Davis made a shot from long range and Young then made the free throw to knot the score and set the stage for Croy’s heroics.

“We controlled the tempo,” Rincker noted. “We needed the game to be in the 40s. We couldn’t get into a track meet. We guarded extremely well and took care of the basketball.

“This will be our model for success the rest of the season,” Rincker added. “Controlling tempo, guarding and protecting the basketball. That will be key for us.”

The Bulldogs broke on top early. Croy and Koenig hit three-pointers and Kyle Stewart added a couple baskets. St. Anthony led 9-2 at one point and was still up, 13-7, after the first period. By halftime, the Chargers were within one point, 20-19.

It stayed tight the entire second half. Centennial’s largest lead was three points and St. Anthony was up four on three different occasions. The Chargers led 28-26 heading into the final period.

“It’s impossible to simulate the type of quickness they have in practice,” Rincker explained. “The way they play is a little helter-skelter and very difficult to prepare for. But I thought our kids handled that pretty well.”

Croy, who has been dealing with a bone bruise in his foot and his practiced just once in the past week, led the Bulldogs with 12 points. Sehy added 10. St. Anthony made 17-of-42 attempts overall, a 40 percent clip. They were 5-of-16 from long range and 1-of-2 from the foul line.

“Before the game, I told the boys this was a great opportunity for us,” Rincker said. “This game should be huge for our confidence. We did exactly what we needed to do to win.”

Things don’t get any easier for the Bulldogs, who improved to 8-5 overall. They will now face Lincoln-Way East, the team many believe to be the tournament favorite. That game will be played at 1:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) at Teutopolis High School. The winner of that game will face either Teutopolis or Newton at 7:30 p.m. The loser will play at 6 p.m.