“On paper, Robinson is the more athletic team,” Rincker said. “But we have some athletes, as well. We kept running guys at them and kept the pressure on. We did wear them down and our guys played as a unit.

“This was a good win, but if we play like this all year, I’m going to have a lot of gray hair,” he added.

The Maroons handled the pressure easily at the beginning. Three-pointers by Aidan Parker and Owen Schmidt helped them build a five-point spread. Brock Fearday hit a pair of free throws to get the Bulldogs within three with 1:01 left in the opening period.

But those were the final points SAHS scored for almost seven minutes. The Maroons built a 21-10 lead midway through the second quarter and appeared to be in control. Finally, at the 2:21 mark, Ryan Schmidt hit a shorter jumper for the Bulldogs to end the drought and ignite a 9-2 surge.

Max Koenig turned in a three-point play, Nick Ruholl hit a pair of free throws and Fearday drove the length of the floor and scored just before the buzzer to get St. Anthony to within 23-19 at halftime.

“My patience was put to the test real fast,” Rincker admitted. “We weren’t scoring because of the way we were playing. We were taking too many threes. We can hit those shots, but we need to have balance. Once we started taking the ball to the hoop, we started doing much better.”

Robinson owned a six-point edge, 27-21, when the Bulldogs put together another surge. Jonathan Willenborg and Michael Martelli scored on back-to-back trips to start a 15-7 run. Collin Westendorf hit a three to tie the game and Fearday drilled a shot from behind the arc to give St. Anthony the lead at 34-33.

Martelli scored four points in the final 21 seconds to send the Bulldogs into the final eight minutes with a 38-34 advantage.

“Willenborg and Martelli both stepped for us,” Rincker said. “You can see why they were part of a state championship golf team. Willenborg’s competitive nature came out and Martelli showed his energy level and toughness.”

The lead fluctuated between two and four points. A short jumper by Noah Gilmore gave Robinson the lead, 43-42, with 2:46 to play. But the Maroons didn’t score again, missing their last three shots from the floor and going 0-for-4 from the foul line in the final 63 seconds.

A free throw by Fearday tied it and a bucket by Willenborg with 1:37 to go put the Bulldogs on top to stay. In the final 47 seconds, Griffin Sehy made a foul shot, Fearday added two more from the line and Sehy ended it by converting a turnover into a layup to account for the final score.

Fearday led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Willenborg scored nine and Martelli added eight. The Bulldogs shot 41 percent overall, making 16-of-39 attempts. They were just 3-for-16 from behind the arc and 15-for-22 at the free throw line.

“This was a fun night,” Rincker said. “It’s always good to learn while winning. We just need to remain confident in what we’re doing. There’s a high ceiling for this team.”

The Bulldogs will return to tournament play Wednesday night. They will play Breese Central at 8 p.m.