Another scoring surge by St. Anthony to start the third quarter proved decisive.

Nolan Clement drilled a three for Casey-Westfield on its first second half possession, but Schmidt answered with a three of his own, sparking a 10-0 run. Will Fearday made two foul shots, Brock Fearday made a three from the top of the key and Schmidt added a pair of free throws to put SAHS on top to stay, 42-34, at the 5:12 mark.

Heading into the final eight minutes, the Bulldogs owned a nine-point advantage, 48-39.

The lead fluctuated between 8 and 11 points much of the fourth period. A bucket and two free throws by Schmidt made it a 12-point spread, 58-46, but the Warriors got a jumper and a shot from long range by Parcel and a free throw by Jackson Maulding to get within six, 58-52. But there was just 22 seconds remaining.

A pair of free throws by Sam Link two seconds later sealed it for the home team.

One of the keys to the second half was the defensive play by the Bulldogs. Their improved effort at that end of the floor was evident in Casey-Westfield’s shooting. In the first half, the Warriors connected on 54 percent of their shots. Over the final two quarters, they made just 8-of-29 attempts, a 28 percent clip.

Rebounding concerns remain, however.

After being out-rebounded by a large margin by Dieterich in the NTC Tournament championship game, the Bulldogs had a similar result against Casey-Westfield, as the Warriors owned a 30-16 edge on the boards.

“That concerns me quite a bit,” Rincker admitted. “We can’t continue to be out-rebounded by 15+ like we were the other night against Dieterich. We were fortunate to survive that. And tonight wasn’t much better.

“There are four phases of the game that you have to win or at least be competitive to be successful,” Rincker added. “Those are defense and rebounding, turnovers, free throws and 50-50 balls. You don’t have to win all of those, but you have to at least be competitive. Rebounding is something we will continue to work on. It has to get better.”

The Warriors, who dropped to 15-6, got 25 points from Parcel. They ended up shooting 40 percent overall, making 21-of-53 shots. They were 7-for-23 from three-point range and 3-for-7 at the foul line.

Schmidt shared game-high scoring honors with 25 points, while Brock Fearday added 17.

“Having two guys that can score like that every night is a luxury that I never take for granted,” Rincker admitted. “I’m going to enjoy every moment while we’ve got it. They put us in position to be successful, even though they face the best defenders the other team has every game.”

St. Anthony shot 48 percent for the game, connecting on 21-of-44 total attempts. They were 7-for-17 from behind the arc and 11-for-13 from the line.

The Bulldogs, who are now 22-2 for the season, will make that trip “across the creek” Friday to play Teutopolis. It will be a rematch between the two rivals. St. Anthony topped the Shoes, 60-49, in the championship game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.