Cody Dickshot and Mason Shubert then scored back-to-back baskets to ignite a 12-0 run over the next seven minutes. It was 24-14 at intermission, and after Dickshot knocked down a three and then converted a Bulldog turnover into a driving layup, the Cougars owned a 29-14 advantage just two minutes into the third quarter.

“Brock got us on a bit of a spurt in that second period,” St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker noted. “I thought we were able to speed them up a little. But Coach (Jeremy) Shubert called a timeout and got them settled down. That was the last time we were really close.

“I felt like we didn’t have the same composure we did Monday night,” Rincker added. “We were never in sync. We were over-aggressive on defense and then got into foul trouble, which affected our rotations.”

And the St. Anthony coach had nothing but praise for Breese Central’s defense.

“Coach Shubert does a fantastic job,” Rincker admitted. “They always play great defense. When we did get the ball into the paint, good things happened. We just weren’t able to get it in there very often.”

After the Cougars built the 15-point margin, the lead fluctuated between 13 and 19 points the rest of the way. Fearday connected on two more threes in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs were never able to mount a serious comeback.

Dickshot and Shubert led the way for Breese Central, scoring 19 and 13 points respectively.

“I thought those two guards controlled the game,” Rincker said. “We couldn’t keep them in front of us on defense. I thought Dickshot and Shubert controlled the game at both ends of the floor.’’

Fearday scored almost half of St. Anthony’s points, finishing with 15. The next highest scorers were Will Fearday and Michael Martelli, who both had just three points.

“Brock had a very good game for us. He was our catalyst,” Rincker said. “Hopefully, he can even build on that going forward. We have a lot of guys that are still inexperienced at the varsity level. We have to learn where our scoring production is going to come from. That was a learning opportunity for our team. That’s the biggest takeaway for me from this game.”

The Bulldogs shot 42 percent overall, making 14-of-33 attempts. They were 4-for-15 from three-point range and 2-for-3 from the foul line.

St. Anthony is now 1-1 in tournament play. They will face cross-town rival Effingham at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“You can throw the records out for that game,” Rincker said. “The atmosphere will be intense. It’s a fun game; an exciting game; an emotional game. But you have to come ready to play your game. The fans always look forward to this one.”