SAHS made only 3-of-14 shots in the first 16 minutes, including 1-of-5 from behind the arc. That one came from Collin Westendorf at the 6:13 mark of the first period. It took six more minutes for the hosts to score again – a short jumper by Brock Fearday. But when the opening quarter ended, the Bulldogs trailed 15-5.

The Tigers led by 12 at one point and were still on top by double digits, 19-8, midway through the second period. St. Anthony made only shot from the floor in the quarter, but did knock down six free throws. That helped the Bulldogs get within eight points, 21-13, when the two teams went to the locker room at intermission.

“This is a good basketball team we played tonight,” Rincker said. “They’re 10-2 and have beat teams like Teutopolis and Breese Central.

“Their physicality bothered us,” Rincker added. “We weren’t quite ready for them physically or mentally. But once we got popped in the mouth, we started to settle in and eventually started playing Bulldog basketball.”

Ryan Schmidt and Westendorf were the catalysts in the third quarter. They both scored early to trim the gap to four points, 21-17. Westendorf then drilled a three and Schmidt converted an Olney turnover into a basket to get SAHS within 25-24 at the 3:26 mark.

From that point on, it was dogfight.

Another three by Westendorf gave St. Anthony its first lead of the game at 32-31, but a 15-foot jumper by Rex Hallam gave the Tigers a slim 36-35 edge heading into the final eight minutes.

Max Koenig turned in a three-point play 29 seconds into the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs never trailed again. Back-to-back baskets by Schmidt and Westendorf produced a 42-38 lead with 4:23 to play.

Olney kept responding and was within 44-42 after another bucket by Hallam. But Schmidt took advantage of back-to-back turnovers by the Tigers, scoring twice in 21 seconds to give the Bulldogs their largest lead, 48-42, with only 1:21 to play.

Baskets by Olney’s 6’8” sophomore center Casey Thomann and Hallam closed the gap to 48-46, but Westendorf made two free throws with only 19 seconds to play to secure the four-point victory.

There were several factors in the second half.

After scoring only 13 points in the opening 16 minutes, the Bulldogs netted 35 in the second half. After shooting a cold 21 percent in the opening half, the hosts were red hot after intermission, connecting on 14-of-17 shots, a torrid 82 percent. That included making all three of their three-point attempts.

“We ran our offense better in the second half,” Rincker noted. “Early in the game, we were just settling and taking too many threes. But we slowly started to get better. We were crisper and more determined on the offensive end. We didn’t score much that first half, but they only had 21 points. I felt it was still anybody’s ball game.

“Then we saw the ball start going in the basket and that really helped,” the coach added. “We got some momentum going and gained some confidence.”

The Bulldogs also increased their intensity on defense. After forcing only three turnovers in the opening half, the St. Anthony defense created 10 in the final two periods.

“We just kept playing our game, but played it better,” Rincker said. “We wanted to push the tempo if we could. Olney likes to slow it down, plus they also play very good halfcourt defense. We also rebounded better, which I thought was a big factor, too.”

The Tigers, now 10-2, had three players in double figures. Hallam scored 16 points, while Arjay Keller and Thomann both had 10. Olney shot 48 percent overall, connecting on 15-of-31 attempts. They were 2-of-7 from long range and 14-of-15 from the line.,

Schmidt and Westendorf paced the Bulldogs, finishing with 19 and 17 points respectively. St. Anthony made 17-of-31 shots, a 55 percent clip. They were 4-of-8 from three-point range and 12-for-15 from the foul stripe.

Rincker likes what he’s seen from his team during this eight-game winning streak.

“I’ve seen the guys buy into their defensive game and what we’re looking for on offense,” the STA coach noted. “This team has a desire to learn and get better. That’s a great thing about this group.”

The Bulldogs improved to 10-2 overall. They will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 28, when they open play in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic. St. Anthony will face Mattoon at 6 p.m. That game will be played at Effingham High School.