For the St. Anthony Bulldogs, it was a second straight game in Altamont with absolute ice cold shooting in the opening half. In the NTC Tournament championship game, SAHS made just 3-of-18 first-half shots, a 17 percent clip. It was the same story Tuesday night, as the Bulldogs connected on only 4-of-24 attempts, an equally cold 17 percent effort.

“When you don’t make shots, the game gets really tough,” SAHS coach Cody Rincker said.

And St. Anthony didn’t make shots – at least not many. And the ones they made came early.

A basket by Collin Westendorf, a three-point play by Brock Fearday, a free throw from Westendorf and another short jumper by Fearday had the Bulldogs on top, 8-2, midway through the opening period.

But they didn’t make another field goal over the next eight minutes.

The Indians weren’t shooting “lights out,” but still considerably better than their opponent. Two baskets by Eric Kollmann – both after grabbing offensive rebounds – a three-pointer by Logan Cornett and a jumper by Avery Jahraus right before the buzzer, gave the hosts a 13-11 edge after the first eight minutes.

Three free throws by Eli Miller, a basket by Jahraus and another by Kollmann – again after an offensive rebound – expanded the lead to 21-13. By intermission, it was a double-digit margin, 26-16.

“I thought our shot selection was okay in that first half,” Rinker noted. “I wanted the boys to be aggressive and to look for opportunities to score early. We got the 8-2 lead, but we couldn’t continue making enough shots to stay with them.

“Credit their defense. It’s tough,” Rincker added. “But we still had some open looks that could’ve kept the game closer. We just missed them.”

The lead ballooned to as many as 16 points in the third period. Three times, the Bulldogs cut into that lead with hopes of a comeback. But each time, Jahraus made sure that comeback never happened.

Two free throws by Ryan Schmidt and a bucket by Westendorf trimmed the lead to 12 points. Jahraus responded with a three-pointer. He was also fouled on the shot and made the free throw to complete the four-point play and restore the 16-point advantage.

Michael Martelli and Westendorf then turned in back-to-back three-point plays to narrow the gap to 10 points. Jahraus then drained a long three from the corner.

After Westendorf made a pair of free throws, another shot from long range by – you guessed it – Jahraus, started an 8-3 surge that was capped by Mason Robinson’s three from the top of the key at the buzzer to give Altamont a 52-35 edge heading into the final eight minutes.

“We got within 10 and I thought some our youth showed again when we made some really questionable fouls and bailed them out a couple times,” Rincker said. “We fouled them a couple times when there was no chance for them to make a shot. Every time we’d start to make a run, we’d stub our toe and fall back. That was the most frustrating thing.”

The Bulldogs got within 13 points twice in the fourth quarter, but another 7-0 run midway through built the lead to 21, which was the biggest of the game. The Indians made sure it never got close by hitting 11-of-12 free throws in that final period.

The Indians had four players in double figures. Jahraus led the way with 20 points, while Robinson scored 15 – all in the second half – and Kollmann added 10. AHS shot 46 percent overall, connecting on 21-of-46 attempts. They were 6-for-20 from behind the arc and 23-for-29 at the foul line. The Indians also owned a 29-18 rebounding advantage.

Westendorf led the Bulldogs with 18 points, while Schmidt added 13. SAHS was 17-for-50 from the floor, a 34 percent clip. They were just 1-for-11 from three-point range and 20-for-25 at the free throw line.

“We need to keep working hard,” Rincker said. “I know it’s late in the season, but there are still things we can clean up – like control our fouling and making some shots. We just need to get back to work and keep improving.”

St. Anthony dipped to 18-12 on the season and finished 6-2 in the NTC. The Bulldogs will play their regular season finale at home Friday night against Casey-Westfield.