The hosts led by as many as 11 points late in the first half and still held a slim two-point edge, 32-20, heading into the final eight minutes.

The Bulldogs’ full-court zone press, which helped them close the gap to four points at intermission, was effective once again to start the fourth quarter.

After Ryan Schmidt hit a short jumper to tie the game just 18 seconds into the final period, the St. Anthony press caused back-to-back turnovers that were converted into a three-pointer by Kennan Griffith and a basket by Brock Fearday.

That put the Bulldogs on top, 37-32, at the 6:42 mark, and they never trailed again.

Free throws by Tyler Ruffner and Ben Roedl, plus another bucket by Roedl, got the Indians to within 38-36, with 4:19 to play. But they didn’t score again until Roedl put in a put-back with less than 10 seconds remaining.

In between, Schmidt drilled a long three from the wing and made three free throws, and Will Fearday added another from the charity stripe, helping SAHS expand its lead down the stretch.

Altamont only turned the ball over eight times during the game, but five of those can be attributed to St. Anthony’s zone press. Two were in the second quarter – both of which the Bulldogs converted into scores – and helped them close the 11-point gap to four. And then the two turnovers in the final period that helped SAHS take the lead for good.

“We look for our press to create traps and turnovers, but we can only use it in spots,” Rincker explained. “We’re not a deep basketball team, so we can’t press a full 32 minutes. It has been affective for us lately, though.”

Through most of the first half, the No. 3-ranked Class 1A team looked vulnerable. The Bulldogs turned the ball over six times and didn’t shoot particularly well, especially in the middle two quarters.

They also had difficulty containing Altamont’s Kade Milleville and Cooper McManaway.

Milleville connected on a pair of shots from behind the arc, including one in the final seconds, helping the Indians get within 13-12 after the first eight minutes. That three also started a string of 15 straight points by Altamont that carried over into the second period.

The junior forward turned in a three-point play and hit a long three, followed by back-to-back scores from McManaway, including a three-pointer, that capped the scoring run and gave the Indians a 24-13 advantage with 3:06 remaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs scored the final seven points and went to the locker room at halftime trailing 24-20.

“We’ve been vulnerable the last few games,” Rincker admitted. “Altamont came out and did a great job of being the aggressor. They had us back on our heels. We’ve got to find a way to start games a little better.”

The Bulldogs used that 7-0 run to end the half as a catalyst to start the third quarter. Brock Fearday hit a jumper, Schmidt scored after grabbing an offensive rebound and Brock Fearday followed with a three-point play, capping a 14-2 surge that began in the second period, and put St. Anthony on top, 27-26.

The lead was short-lived, however. McManaway, just a freshman, hit a jumper, Milleville added another and McManaway scored again late in the quarter that sent the Indians into the final period with the slim two-point cushion, 32-30.

At the end of that third quarter, Milleville and McManaway had accounted for 30 or their team’s 32 points. That included all 24 in the opening half. Over the final eight minutes, however, that duo was held scoreless.

“Defensively, we finally started executing what we were supposed to do in the first half,” Rincker said. “Will did a much better job on Milleville. He didn’t let him get loose in the second half. And Keenan did a better job keeping McManaway from getting shots and getting to the basket.”

Milleville finished with 16 points and McManaway scored 14 for the Indians, who dropped to 16-12 overall. They shot 32 percent from the floor, connecting on 14-of-44 attempts. They were 4-for-16 from three-point range and 6-for-11 at the line.

The Bulldogs got 14 points from Schmidt and 11 from Brock Fearday.

Overall, they made 16-of-44 shots, a 36 percent clip. But there was no consistency. In the first and fourth quarters, they made 9-of-15 attempts, a torrid 60 percent. But their shooting in the middle two periods was atrocious, going just 7-for-29, an icy 24 percent.

“Some of that you have to credit to Altamont’s defense,” Rincker noted. “But we also missed a lot of bunnies, which is just a lack of concentration.

“Everybody we play is going to be out to get us,” Rincker added. “We have to do a better job of going out and taking games rather than hoping things fall in our laps.”

St. Anthony was 6-for-15 from long range and 7-for-13 at the foul line. They held a 31-25 rebounding advantage, with Schmidt pulling down 10 boards to give him a double-double.

The Bulldogs improved to 25-4 overall. They will finish their regular season at home Friday against Robinson.