Will Fearday injured his ankle in the super sectional. Ryan Schmidt did the same in the third quarter of Thursday’s first state semifinal game against Chicago Hope. He then came down on the side of another player’s foot in the second quarter Friday. Neither player was close to 100 percent the entire game. Fearday, in fact, was kept out of the starting lineup because of it.
“It did have an impact,” Rincker said. “It hurt our matchups. We weren’t able to guard the way we typically like to guard. But I’m proud of the effort these kids gave.”
After failing to make a shot for 14 minutes Thursday against Chicago Hope, the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard a little over two minutes into this contest. And despite the gimpy ankle, Schmidt carried the early load, scoring the team’s first eight points.
The Bulldogs led by as many as five points in the opening quarter, but as would be the case throughout the first three periods, the Chargers always had an answer – and most of those came from behind the three-point line.
St. Anthony led 13-10 after the first eight minutes and extended it to five after a pair of free throws from Miles Waldhoff to open the second period. But Peoria Christian’s Gavin Walder and Drew Gama responded with back-to-back threes to give the Chargers their first lead of the game.
The lead bounced back-and-forth the last half of the second quarter. A three by Brock Fearday put the Bulldogs on top, but Trae Brickner then hit one from long range to give Peoria Christian the lead. It was then Brock Fearday’s turn again with another three, followed by a short jumper from Keenan Griffith to give SAHS a 24-21 edge.
But threes by Brickner and Walden – the pair combined for eight of them in the game – sent the Chargers to the locker room with a 27-25 advantage.
“They are relentless in their effort to get off three-point shots,” Rincker noted. “The game plan was to keep them from breaking us down off the dribble. But that happened too many times and resulted in open looks. With the ankle problems, we just didn’t have the mobility to get out and guard them.”
Peoria Christian drained 10 shots from behind the arc – just one day after making only 4-of-29 in the semifinal loss to Lanark Eastland.
“We work tirelessly on shooting the basketball,” said Chargers coach Jason Persinger. “We want to play at a tempo and the set we run always looks for layups. But you have to play with your strengths. We’re not going to post anybody up, but we have shooters this year.
“I love that our guys came out and shot confidently, especially after we shot just 14 percent from three yesterday,” Persinger added. “The kids had no hesitation. They were confident in putting those shots up.”
Brock Fearday scored twice and Griffith turned a Chargers turnover into a pair of free throws, staking the Bulldogs to a 31-27 lead two minutes into the third period. But Brickner and Walder followed with three-pointers.
After a three-point play by Brock Fearday at the 2:01 mark, St. Anthony had its final lead of the game, 36-33. Brickner hit a jumper, Walder drilled another three and Josh Walton scored on an offensive putback just ahead of the buzzer to send Peoria Christian into the final eight minutes with a 40-36 edge.
“We couldn’t limit their dribble drive enough to get to their shooters,” Rincker said. “But give them credit. Every time it looked like we were getting something going, they knocked down shots.”
The lead fluctuated between four and six points through the first 3½ minutes of the fourth period. A three by Brock Fearday at the 4:28 mark and a strong drive to the basket 29 seconds later, kept the Bulldogs within three points, 48-45.
Another three by Brock Fearday, who scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, had St. Anthony within 52-48 and 3:20 still remaining. But the Bulldogs were unable to get any closer than that down the stretch. The Chargers went 5-for-6 from the line in the final three minutes to extend their lead and seal the victory.
“This is going to be quite a celebration for us,” Coach Persinger admitted. “This was our first state trophy and the best year in school history.
“Peoria Christian is a special place,” the coach added. “I love these guys and I thank the Lord for our school.”
Brickner led the Chargers with 26 points, while Walder added 15. For the game, Peoria Christian made 20-of-45 shots overall, a 44 percent clip. They were 10-for-26 from long range and 11-for-16 from the foul line.
The Chargers finished the season with a 29-10 record.
Brock Fearday turned in his third straight double-double performance, finishing with 27 points and 12 rebounds. He finishes his career as St. Anthony’s all-time leading scorer for boys basketball with 1,775 points.
“Brock is a model of consistency,” Rincker said. “That’s why he’s the all-time leading scorer. He hits big shots in big moments. I’ve known him since third grade, and I can’t say enough positive things about him. Brock’s just a great kid.”
The Bulldogs also got 12 points from Schmidt, an effort that was noticed by Coach Persinger.
“I told Ryan I thought he was one of the toughest players I’d ever seen,” Persinger said. “It says a lot about his character. Both of those boys hit some incredible shots the last couple days. They are both very good ball players.”
The Bulldogs shot 34 percent from the floor overall, making 17-of-50 attempts. They were 5-of-27 from three-point range and 12-of-17 at the line.
This team finishes the season 32-6, setting a new school record for the most wins in a season. During this group’s four-year career, St. Anthony has won 104 games – more than any other group has ever done at SAHS. The fourth place trophy represents the second best finish by a Bulldogs team, also accomplished by the 1978 squad. And they became the first St. Anthony squad to win the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
“This is why teams work so hard,” Rincker said. “They wanted the opportunity to play on this stage. Our school and our community can be proud of the way they played and carried themselves. I’m extremely proud of these guys.”
