Altamont’s defense made it difficult for the Bulldogs the entire game. St. Anthony had difficulty getting good shots in the paint and were unable to connect from long range. Of their 18 first-half shots, 11 of them came from behind the arc and they made just one.

In fact, the Bulldogs missed their first 10 shots. The Indians got back-to-back buckets from Dillan Elam that gave them a 10-0 lead at the 1:48 mark.

Collin Westendorf finally got SAHS on the board 31 seconds later and then hit a late free throw to get the Bulldogs within 10-3 after the first eight minutes.

“I felt like we had some good looks, but they were all on the perimeter,” Rincker noted. “We just couldn’t get the ball in the paint. There may have been a few jitters and I think the guys got a little tentative. But at the same time, Altamont did a fantastic job defending without fouling.”

The shooting didn’t improve in the second quarter. After going 1-for-9 in the first period, the Bulldogs were only 2-for-9 in the second.

A jumper by Ryan Schmidt cut the lead to 11-5, but AHS responded with an 8-1 run. Avery Jahraus, named the tournament’s MVP, knocked down a three and hit a couple free throws to increase the Indians lead to 19-6.

Schmidt then made a pair of three throws and Griffin Sehy drained a three right before the buzzer to get the Bulldogs within 19-11 at halftime.

Brock Fearday hit two shots in the first 30 seconds of the second half and St. Anthony, despite shooting an icy 16 percent, was within four points, 19-15.

“The way we were shooting, we felt fortunate to only be down eight at halftime,” Rincker admitted. “Then we came out and ran a nice set to get within four. We were feeling really good.”

But that good feeling went away quickly.

Jared Hammer’s free throw started the game-changing run for the Indians. Elam scored, Eli Miller hit a jumper and followed that with a three-pointer and Hammer capped the three-minute, 11-0 scoring spree with a three-point play to increase the gap to 15 points, 30-15.

“After we got within four, they just took to us and we couldn’t handle them,” Rincker said. “Their defense, plus their size and strength was too much. It just wasn’t our night.”

Consecutive baskets by Westendorf made it an 11-point spread, but Eric Kollmann had a three-point play, Logan Cornett added a pair of three throws and Kaidyn Miller hit a short jumper to help the Indians re-establish that 15-point margin, 37-22, heading into the final eight minutes.

The Bulldogs got within 13 once and trailed by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.

Jahraus and Elam both finished with 11 points for the Indians and Hammer added eight. They shot 43 percent from the floor, connecting on 16-of-37 attempts. They were 2-for-14 from long range and 17-for-23 at the foul line. They owned a commanding 33-18 rebounding edge, with Kollmann pulling down a game-high seven.

The Bulldogs didn’t have a player reach double figures. Westendorf and Sehy both finished with nine. They made just 11-of-42 attempts overall, a 26 percent clip. They were 2-for-16 from behind the arc and 8-for-13 at the foul line.

“This is the ninth year I’ve coached in this tournament and it’s always exciting,” Rincker said. “It’s an honor and privilege to be part of the National Trail Conference. It’s a fantastic league. And it’s been a fantastic week. It was a disappointing ending for us, but overall, it was a very good week.”

The Bulldogs are now 17-9 on the season. They will return to action Friday, traveling “across the creek” to play at Teutopolis.

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In other action Saturday at the NTC Tournament, North Clay defeated Dieterich 58-50 in the third place game; Windsor/Stew-Stras beat St. Elmo/Brownstown 51-44 in the consolation championship; and South Central got seventh place by heating Neoga 59-47.

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Twelve players were named to the NTC All-Tournament Team.

Altamont’s Avery Jahraus was named the tourney’s Most Valuable Player.

Joining him on the all-tournament team were teammates Dillan Elam and Eric Kollmann; Brock Fearday and Ryan Schmidt, from St. Anthony; Caleb Gephart, from Dieterich; Quintin Richards, from Neoga; Alex Boose and Logan Fleener, from North Clay; Adam Atwood, from St. Elmo/Brownstown; Aidan Dodson, from South Central; and Austin Wittenberg, from Windsor/Stew-Stras.