The Bulldogs took just six shots from behind the arc in the final two quarters and made three of them. They were 11-for-18 – a 61 percent clip – from inside that arc, and as a result, their lead just continued to escalate throughout the last 16 minutes of the contest.

Brock Fearday hit a pair of free throws and Collin Westendorf connected on a three from the corner to quickly establish a double-digit lead in the third quarter. Then it was Ryan Schmidt that started to dominate. He turned in a three-point play and added another basket – both after grabbing offensive rebounds – and then capped his eight-point quarter with a three from the top of the key.

When Westendorf turned a steal into a bucket at the end of the period, the Bulldogs owned a commanding 19-point advantage, 40-21.

Schmidt continued to play well in the final eight minutes, scoring seven more points. Brock Fearday also contributed seven points, as the Bulldogs continued to expand their lead.

“We really challenged Ryan,” Rincker said. “We encouraged him to use his speed and length and to be tougher and more physical. He’s too good a player not to use those things. I felt like he focused on defense and rebounding first tonight and just let the offense come to him. And when it did, he made shots.”

Another factor in the game was St. Anthony’s zone press – something Rincker used for the first time. That pressure made it tough for the Movin’ Maroons to create good shots on offense, plus it forced 17 turnovers.

“I wanted to pressure this year, but I might have missed what type of pressure works best for this team,” the coach explained. “We have been using our man-to-man to pressure, but we’re giving up too many points.

“Tonight, we used our 1-2-2 press and it gave Dieterich fits,” Rincker added. “It’s something we’ve been working on, but tonight was the first time we really put it into our game plan. I thought it was definitely a factor.”

A three-pointer by Diterich’s Caleb Gephart created an early tie at 5-5. But the Bulldogs converted three DHS turnovers into baskets. Westendorf and Max Koenig both drained threes and Michael Martelli turned an offensive rebound into a pair of free throws to give SAHS a 17-9 lead after the opening eight minutes.

Neither team shot the ball well in the first half and the second quarter was even worse. The Movin’ Maroons were only 1-for-7 and the Bulldogs made just 2-of-12 shots, including going 0-for-5 from long range.

When the two teams headed to the locker room, the Bulldogs owned a 23-14 edge.

Gephart led Dieterich with 13 points. The Movin’ Maroons, who are now 5-3 on the season and 2-2 in the National Trail Conference, shot 34 percent overall, making 13-of-38 attempts. They were 3-for-15 from three-point range and 3-for-6 from the foul line.

The Bulldogs got 19 points from Schmidt and 15 from Brock Fearday. They made 21-of-50 attempts overall, a 42 percent effort. They were 6-for-18 from long range and 13-for-15 from the foul stripe. They owned a 30-17 rebounding advantage, with Fearday, Koenig and Schmidt all pulling down six boards.

St. Anthony only turned the ball over 10 times, a stat Rincker was pleased with.

“Our ability to handle the basketball has been pretty good this year and I hope that continues,” he said. “We’ve had a few spurts where we’ve had two-three-four turnovers in a row, but we’re not doing that as much. We’re showing improvement and making progress.”

The Bulldogs improved to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in the National Trail Conference. They will play again tonight (Saturday) at home against Charleston and then travel to Olney to play Richland County on Tuesday night.