“We never take this for granted,” said SAHS coach Cody Rincker. “I want the kids to have this experience as many times as they can. It creates great memories.”
But at the end of the first half, it was more like nightmares.
The Maroons were fantastic. Their defense was stifling, making it difficult for the Bulldogs to even get a good look. They controlled the backboards and their offense, while patient, produced good shot after good shot.
A three-pointer by Ryan Schmidt was the only basket SAHS scored in the first eight minutes. Schmidt added four free throws and had all seven of his team’s points. A bucket by Landen Keck with four seconds left and a free throw by Tanner Will three seconds later – after a St. Anthony turnover on the inbounds pass – staked Dieterich to a 10-7 lead.
“Credit Dieterich,” Rincker said. “They came out and punched us in the mouth. They came ready to play and had us back on our heels.”
That didn’t change in the second quarter and the gap continued to widen.
A three-pointer by Keenan Griffith had the Bulldogs within 14-10 at the 5:26 mark. But St. Anthony scored just two more points the rest of the period.
Meanwhile, Lucas Westendorf and Bryce Bohnhoff took over. Both players scored six points in the second quarter, helping the Maroons close the half on a 10-2 run. When Bohnhoff threw in an off-balance shot at the buzzer, Dieterich raced to the locker room with all the momentum and a 24-12 advantage at intermission.
“They were more physical and more engaged on defense than we were,” said senior forward Brock Fearday, who was scoreless at halftime. “They were all over us, but they weren’t fouling. They were just playing good defense. They played really good, plus it was our worst half of basketball this season.”
“They had much more intensity and were more connected,” Schmidt added.
“Just about anything that could go wrong, did,” Rincker continued. “We weren’t making shots, we weren’t rebounding and not communicating on defense. Ryan hit a couple buckets and Keenan made a three. Other than that, I don’t know how it could have been any worse.”
But during the halftime break, Coach Rincker got his team’s attention.
“He called me out,” Fearday admitted. “He told me I needed to be better.”
“We made some adjustments with our matchups,” Rincker explained. “We went to full-court man-to-man and I told them they needed to be more aggressive and more connected. We weren’t doing any of that the first half.”
“They certainly had more intensity than we did – 100% more,” Schmidt added. “But we were able to flip the switch.”
And it happened quickly.
Brock Fearday hit a free throw and then a short jumper – both after grabbing offensive rebounds. Keck answered with a shot from behind the arc to re-establish Dieterich’s 12-point lead.
But Griffith followed a shot from long range, sparking a much-needed scoring surge for the Bulldogs. When Schmidt converted a Maroons’ turnover into a score, St. Anthony finally reached the 20-point plateau – at the 4:08 mark of the third period.
Schmidt then scored again, followed by another basket from Brock Fearday and a free throw by Miles Waldhoff that capped the run and got SAHS to within 27-25.
A long three by Brock Fearday and a layup by Schmidt after another Dieterich miscue, helped the Bulldogs get even, 30-30, heading into the final eight minutes.
One of the keys to the third quarter surge was the St. Anthony defense that pressured the Maroons into 11 turnovers. The Bulldogs scored after five of those.
“It was all about defense that quarter,” Rincker said. “We finally brought the intensity and then was able to capitalize on the turnovers.”
All that momentum quickly went away, however, as the fourth period opened. The first three-plus minutes resembled the first half. St. Anthony missed its first three shots and turned the ball over once, and the Maroons were once again controlling the boards.
Westendorf scored four points, Brock Niemerg added a foul shot and Bohnhoff made a strong drive to the basket, completing a 7-0 scoring spree that had Dieterich on top, 37-30.
Will Fearday, scoreless through three quarters, hit a three from the corner with a little under five minutes to play. Niemerg answered with a short jumper at the 4:11 mark to keep the Maroons on top by six, 39-33.
It was the final points they would score.
“Those first four minutes were the same as the first half,” Brock Fearday said. “But then we responded. Coach called a timeout to get us in focus. Then we went out and won the game.”
Brock Fearday hit a long three and Will Fearday made a strong move on the baseline for a basket, and when Schmidt made a jumper in the lane, the Bulldogs were on top for good, 40-39, with 1:49 still showing on the Altamont High School clock.
Ironically, St. Anthony led for only 2 minutes and 24 seconds the entire game – a 35-second stretch in the third period and the final 1:49.
Dieterich had three possessions down the stretch. Westendorf missed a three-point attempt on the first one and the next two resulted in turnovers.
Brock Fearday made one foul shot with 25 seconds to go and then iced the game with two more free throws to make it a four-point, two-possession game, and only 13 ticks showing. Dieterich fired up a couple threes in the final seconds, but were unable to connect, setting off a St. Anthony celebration when the final buzzer sounded.
“We absolutely needed a game like this,” Rincker admitted. “It was a gut check to see what we were made of. We were fortunate to make enough plays to pull ourselves out of that first-half hole and then again at the end.”
“This was like a postseason game,” Schmidt added. “We just kept battling, which is what we needed to do. You know there will be games just like this in the postseason.”
“We’re a gritty bunch. We might get down, but we never give up,” Brock Fearday continued. “Winning a second straight title is a great feeling. We just need to carry this into the rest of the season and into the playoffs.”
After losing to St. Anthony by 28 points in an earlier meeting, Dieterich certainly had its chance to gain revenge Saturday night. They controlled the tempo, shot better and had a commanding advantage on the boards. Those 11 turnovers in the third period – and 20 for the game – was the one phase that hurt them.
Westendorf scored 12 points to lead the Maroons, while Bohnhoff added 10. As a team, Dieterich shot 39 percent overall, making 15-of-40 shots. They were 2-for-11 from three-point range and 7-for-12 at the line. They outrebounded St. Anthony, 27-15, with Westendorf pulling down eight.
The Maroons dipped to 18-5 on the season.
Schmidt and Brock Fearday led the scoring attack for the Bulldogs, scoring 17 and 14 points respectively. SAHS made 14-of-37 shots, finishing at 38 percent. There was quite a contrast between the two halves. In the first 16 minutes, the Bulldogs made only 3-of-16 shots, an icy 19 percent. In the second half, they were 11-for-21, a 52 percent clip. They were 6-for-14 from long range and 9-for-13 at the line.
Both Brock Fearday and Schmidt were named to the all-tournament team. And for the second year in a row, Schmidt was selected as the Most Valuable Player. Last year, he scored 36 points in the championship game, helping the Bulldogs defeat Dieterich.
“It’s an honor for me to play with a good group of guys,” Schmidt said. “I love this tournament. It’s sad to think this is my last one. But it’s great to go out with a win.”
The Bulldogs have now won 19 straight games and improved to 21-2 for the season.
“Our team has had a bullseye on our back for some time,” Rincker noted. “We’ve had a pretty good string here, making it to the finals eight years in a row. It takes a lot of hard work and drive to accomplish that. It’s something we’re proud of.”
The Bulldogs will be back in action Tuesday night. They will return to The Enlow Center and welcome a strong Casey-Westfield team. The Warriors will come in with a 15-5 record and some momentum, having just won the Little Illini Conference Tournament.
* * * * * *
There were 12 boys selected to the National Trail Conference All-Tournament team.
St. Anthony’s Ryan Schmidt was named the Most Valuable Player and teammate Brock Fearday joined on the all-tourney squad.
Other selected were – Ben Roedl and Kade Milleville, from Altamont; Lucas Westendorf, Landen Keck and Brock Niemerg, from Dieterich; Mason Byers and Cody Zimdars, from North Clay; Westin Neilson, from South Central; Graidon Wilhour, from St. Elmo/Brownstown; and Jackson Gurgel, from Windsor/Stew-Stras.
