The first 2½ minutes of the third period were not good for St. Anthony. They turned the ball over on three straight possessions and Highland scored after each one. Then Gelly knocked down another three to expand the lead to 37-24 at the 5:22 mark. The lead fluctuated between 9 and 13 points the remainder of the period, with Highland on top, 43-34, entering the final eight minutes.

It was a 12-point deficit when Max Koenig drilled a three and then hit a short jumper to get the Bulldogs to within seven, 48-41. But, again, St. Anthony was careless with the ball, turning it over on two straight possessions. Highland made three free throws and Joe Jansen had a three-point play to push the lead back to double digits with less than a minute left.

“We just didn’t seem to play with any urgency,” Rincker said. “It wasn’t where we needed to be to go 3-1 in this tournament. I was frustrated with the effort I saw. It was disappointing.

“We might have been playing hard, but we just weren’t locked in,” Rincker added. “We were sloppy and made too many mistakes. When you get in that deep of a hole, like we were in the third quarter, it’s difficult to come back from.”

Collin Westendorf was the only Bulldog to crack double figures, finishing with 10 points. Sehy and Koenig both had seven. The Bulldogs shot 38 percent from the field, making 16-of-42 shots. They were also guilty of 15 turnovers.

“Overall, I’m very pleased. To go 2-2 in this tourney is always a good thing, especially since we’re the smallest school and were undersized all week,” Rincker noted. “We learned how good we could be and what we need to do to get better. Ultimately, that’s what we wanted from this week.”

The Bulldogs will return to action Tuesday night with a game at North Clay. It will be the National Trail Conference opener. St. Anthony will then play Friday at Sullivan.