The St. Anthony Bulldogs did it.
The Lincoln Way East Griffins had won 11 straight games and captured the last two Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic titles.
There will not be a three-peat.
The Bulldogs made sure of that with their 65-54 victory Friday night.
St. Anthony trailed 44-43 after three quarters, but then outscored the Griffins 22-10 in the final eight minutes to notch their 10th straight win of the season and earn a spot in this tournament’s championship game for the first time.
And it should be a good one. The Bulldogs will tangle with their cross-creek rivals – the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes. The game is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Effingham High School.
“We’re going to enjoy this one tonight, but the tournament is not over,” said a happy St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker. “We’ll get back at it tomorrow. You know T-Town will be ready to go, too. It should be quite a game.”
The game was tight virtually all the way. St. Anthony built an eight-point lead in the fourth period, but Lincoln Way East battled back to within three. That’s when Ryan Schmidt nailed a three-pointer from the wing to expand the lead back to six and the Griffins never got closer than that down the stretch.
Schmidt, Brock Fearday and Sam Link hit crucial free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win and a spot in the finals.
Fearday finished with a game-high 24 points, while Schmidt added 21.
“This was a whale of a ballgame,” Rincker said. “It took a great effort by our kids. It took a full 32 minutes. I’m so proud of the boys. They never lost their energy or their focus. And now we get to play in the championship game for the first time. It’s exciting.”
St. Anthony improved to 12-2 on the season.
