The St. Anthony Bulldogs opened postseason play with an easy 74-40 victory at home Saturday over Sandoval.

The Bulldogs raced to a 28-4 lead after the first eight minutes and coasted the rest of the way to claim an opening-round game of the Class 1A South Central Regional.

Collin Westendorf knocked down two three-pointers and scored 10 points in the opening quarter, helping SAHS build the early 24-point advantage. It was 50-25 at halftime and 68-38 heading into the final period. Because of the 30-point deficit, there was a continuously running clock in the fourth quarter.

Westendorf was one of four Bulldogs in double figures. He finished with a team-high 18 points, while Brock Fearday scored 14, Ryan Schmidt added 12 and Max Koenig had 10.

St. Anthony improved to 20-12 on the season and advanced to the semifinals of the regional. The remaining games will be played at South Central High School. The Bulldogs will face North Clay at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Cardinals are 21-9 after beating Dieterich 63-52 in a regional matchup Saturday.

This will be the third meeting between the two teams this year. The Cardinals won 53-49 in the NTC opener for both teams in November, but the Bulldogs bounced back to post a 60-43 victory in the semifinals of the NTC Tournament in January.