“I thought we locked into the scouting report real well,” Rincker noted. “Defensively, the kids are starting to take ownership of what their role is. They knew who they were guarding, where they were guarding and our rotation tonight was awfully good.”

So, what was the message at halftime?

“I thought our first 14 minutes were very good, but I thought we got a little greedy and little satisfied those final two minutes,” Rincker said. “My message was we can’t let up. This team (Mater Dei) can score. I figured they’d make a push. They have too good of a program not to show some fight. And you saw what happened.”

The Knights got two long threes from Garrick Winkeler and scored the first nine points of the third period to close the gap to 15 points, 40-25.

“But I didn’t call a time out,” Rincker said. “I wanted the kids to play through that and see if we’d respond.”

They did.

Schmidt converted a three-point play to spark a 16-3 scoring run. Fearday had five points, Nick Ruholl hit a pair of shots, including one from long range, and Hatton hit two short jumpers, including the one that capped the run and put the Bulldogs up by 28 points, 56-28, with 1:56 to play in the third quarter.

The hosts led 62-38 entering the fourth quarter, and when Fearday converted a turnover into a layup, the Bulldogs were on top by 31 points, 73-42, resulting in a continuously running clock the remainder of the way.

One of the aspects of the game Rincker was pleased with was the physicality his team showed.

“Sometimes, we lack that. Sometimes, we don’t show as much strength as we should,” the SAHS coach admitted. “But, we also have some guys that thrive on the contact. I like seeing what I did tonight. You have to be a strong team if you’re going to win big games.”

The Knights, who dipped to 9-11 on the season, got 17 points from Lampe and 10 from Drake Wagner. They shot just 32 percent from the floor, making 12-of-37 attempts. They were 5-for-19 from three-point range and 16-for-20 from the foul line.

The Bulldogs had four players in double figures. Schmidt led the way with 20 points, while Fearday scored 18, Westendorf had 12 and Ruholl came off the bench to add 11.

“Nick is making us a better team,” Rincker noted. “The Christmas tournament was good for him. He hit some shots and gained some confidence. I love what he gives us, both on offense and defense.”

The Bulldogs shot very well, connecting on 28-of-50 shots overall, a 56 percent clip. They were 9-for-19 from behind the arc and 13-for-18 from the charity stripe. They held a 20-16 rebounding edge and forced Mater Dei into 14 turnovers.

It was a very good showing for the team ranked No. 1 in the Class 1A polls.

“We have high expectations,” Rincker said. “We hold ourselves to those expectations every day in practice. The ranking is flattering. It’s nice to be recognized for success. These kids have embraced that, but they know they have to keep playing and competing as hard as they can.”

The Bulldogs improved to 16-4. They will have another home game Tuesday against Flora.