Schmidt then struck again from the corner and Boose added a jumper, giving North Clay a slim 17-16 edge after the first eight minutes.

Schmidt then drilled two more shots from long range to open the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a lead they never relinquished.

“Ryan came in with great energy, like he always does,” Rincker noted. “It’s great to have someone that can come off the bench and score like that. But Ryan also guards hard and rebounds hard. He gave us a huge spark tonight.”

Three points by Collin Westendorf and a bucket by Brock Fearday expanded the SAHS lead to eight. Later, a three-pointer by Griffin Sehy made it a 10-point spread. It was still a nine-point margin, 34-25, at halftime.

But North Clay came out strong in the second half. Fleener and Levi Smith scored, Boose hit another three and freshman Cody Zimdars capped the 9-3 surge with a bucket to trim the gap to just three points, 37-34, at the 5:42 mark of the third period.

That resulted in a timeout by Rincker.

“After we got that lead, we just seemed to relax,” Rincker explained. “They have a lot of good players and there was a lot of game left. I hoped that timeout would stop some of their momentum.

“It looked like we were playing not to lose,” Rincker added. “We were too passive; not nearly as aggressive as we were in that second quarter. We needed to flip that switch and get going again. The boys did a great job responding.”

Sehy made a pair of foul shots just 25 later that sparked a game-changing run through the rest of the period.

Sehy added a bucket, as did Feardy. Jonathan Willenborg scored after grabbing an offensive rebound and Schmidt scored five points, including his fifth three-pointer. And when Max Koenig scored at the end of the quarter, it capped a 15-2 surge that gave the Bulldogs a 52-36 advantage.

“We really shared the ball well during that stretch,” Rincker said. “We also guarded well. We forced them into taking some tough shots and then did a good job rebounding. When you do those things, plus shoot well, the game becomes a lot simpler.”

Fleener hit a shot to open the final period to get the Cardinals within 14 points, but they were unable to get any closer.

Fleener actually shared game scoring honors with Schmidt, also netting 19 points. Boose added 13 points for the Cardinals, who finished their season at 21-10. North Clay shot 39 percent overall, connecting on 19-of-49 attempts. They were 2-for-13 from three-point range and 5-for-9 at the foul line.

Fearday and Sehy were also in double figures, scoring 15 and 12 points respectively. The Bulldogs made 21-of-42 attempts overall, a 50 percent clip. They were 8-for-15 from behind the arc and 12-for-14 at the line. They held a 27-20 rebounding edge, with Schmidt and Koenig both pulling down six boards.

St. Anthony, which improved to 21-12, will now face Christ Our Rock Lutheran, who will enter the game with a 29-2 mark. At one time, they were the No. 1 ranked team in Class 1A.

“They have length, quickness and toughness,” Rincker said. “We’re going to have to match that. They’re 29-2 for a reason.

“There’s not an easy game in this regional,” Rincker added. “But this is when the season gets fun. There will be a regional championship on the line Friday night. This is what we play for all season long. “