It was just a four-point spread after the opening eight minutes. St. Anthony came out in a tight man-to-man defense, but the Shoes showed patience and a willingness to work the ball. They only trailed 10-6 after the first quarter.

But after the next eight minutes, the Bulldogs were firmly in control. That defense forced T-Town into 1-for-8 shooting, as well as five turnovers.

“In that first quarter, we moved the ball and got good looks,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “We missed a couple open guys and also missed some shots. Then we got a little passive, started playing 1-on-1 and that’s when we started turning the ball over.

“We got away from doing the things we wanted to do and I can’t explain that,” Reeder added. “We had two great days of practice and we were very clear on what we wanted to do, both offensively and defensively. We didn’t do any of those things. We got out-rebounded and turned the ball over. You can’t do those things and beat a good team.”

While the Shoes were missing shots and committing turnovers, the Bulldogs continued to build the lead. Westendorf’s three-pointer at the end of the first period ignited a 9-0 run. St. Anthony made five free throws to start the second period and expand the margin to 15-6.

With 4:21 left in the first half, T-Town’s Mitch Koester hit a three from the top of the key to trim the lead to 15-9. But that was the only shot the Shoes made and the only points they scored in the quarter.

After Brady Hatton scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, the Bulldogs took advantage of four Teutopolis turnovers in the final 3½ minutes. Schmidt scored six points and Westendorf and Brock Fearday both added baskets, helping the hosts close the quarter on a 12-0 run and take a 27-9 lead to the locker room at intermission.

 “I thought we found another level defensively tonight, which I’ve been waiting to see,” Rincker said. “When we went big in the second quarter, I thought we really locked down. Brady came in and was a real presence for us. A lot of what he does doesn’t show up in the box score, but he’s a factor for us every night.”

When the first half ended, the Shoes had made just 3-of-13 shots, an icy 23 percent, plus had turned the ball over nine times.

“I thought we were ready to play tonight,” Reeder admitted. “But after that first quarter, we got a little gun shy and never came out of it. But credit Cody’s kids. They played well. You have to do the little things to beat really good teams and Cody has a really good team.”

If Teutopolis had any thoughts of a second-half comeback, those were laid to rest early in the third period. After Garrett Gaddis hit a jumper, Sam Link connected on a three from the corner and then converted a THS turnover into a driving layup. Fearday then added a pair of foul shots, and less than 3½ minutes into the second half, it was a 23-point bulge, 34-11.

From that point on, the margin hovered between 17 and 24 points. SAHS owned a 43-22 edge heading into the final eight minutes. Drew Hoene and Alex Kremer scored to open the fourth period and get the Shoes within 17 points, 43-26, but they were unable to get any closer. The Bulldogs responded with a 9-0 run to open their largest lead of the game, 52-26, midway through.

The Shoes didn’t have a player reach double figure. Kremer led the scoring with six points, but the team’s leading scorer, Garrett Gaddis, was limited to just four shots and five points.

“I thought Collin did a fantastic job on Gaddis,” Rincker said. “He stayed close to him the entire game. We wanted to stop his three-point shot, plus I thought our help defense was very good. We gave him very few driving lanes. It was just an outstanding job.”

The Shoes finished 14-for-34 overall, a 41 percent clip. They were 2-for-13 from behind the arc and 4-for-6 from the foul line.

“St. Anthony poses a big challenge,” Reeder said. “Every kid can shoot it, dribble it and pass it. Plus, they are sound defensively. They make you pass the basketball or they’ll surround you with two or three guys. You have to be willing to pass the ball to the next guy. Too many times, we didn’t do that.

“The Shoes just weren’t very good tonight,” Reeder added. “And the Bulldogs had a lot to do with that.”

St. Anthony had three players in double figures. Schmidt led the way with 16 points, while Westendorf scored 12 and Fearday added 11.

The Bulldogs shot 47 percent, connecting on 20-of-43 attempts. They were 5-for-15 from long range and 10-for-12 from the line. They forced T-Town into 14 turnovers and also held a 26-17 rebounding advantage. Fearday finished with a game-high nine boards.

“Games like this keep building our confidence,” Rincker said. “The guys expected to win tonight. They were on a mission to do so. It just proves if they put their minds to it, they can do some awesome things. But we’ll be back to work tomorrow trying to improve.”

The Shoes dropped to 15-9 on the season. They will be back in action today (Saturday). They will be at home against Robinson.

The Bulldogs improved to 24-4 on the season. They will return to action Tuesday night with a National Trail Conference game at South Central.