“We learned a lot about ourselves this week,” said St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker. “It’s a great win and one we’re proud of. But, hopefully, this isn’t the highlight of our season.”

There were plenty of highlights, however, especially during the impressive rally in the third period.

After Evan Wermert drilled a 3-pointer, the Shoes held a seemingly comfortable 35-21 lead as the clock ticked under six minutes in the third quarter. But the Bulldogs, who had made less than 30 percent of its shots up to that point, suddenly got hot.

Aaron Webb hit a pair from behind the arc and Jaccob Dust hit a couple short jumpers to cut the margin to 35-31. Logan Antrim then used his quickness to create a couple turnovers and converted them into four points to knot the score. Jack Hoene then capped the scoring spree with two free throws that sent the Bulldogs into the final eight minutes with a 37-35 lead.

“This is on me,” said THS coach Chet Reeder. “Back in the second quarter when we were up 17, I took my foot off the gas pedal. Our boys were playing well. Who knows what the score could have been. But I started running too many sets. I over-coached tonight and I’m totally shouldering the responsibility for this loss.”

Jordan Hardiek hit two free throws to open the fourth quarter scoring and tied the game at 37-37. It was one of six ties in the final eight minutes. The lead changed hands three times and the largest lead by either team was a mere two points.

Teutopolis had the ball with 16 seconds to play and set up a play for Wermert to get a shot. St. Anthony defended well, but Jordan Hardiek then broke to an open spot on the floor and had an open 3-pointer from the top of the circle. It missed, but Wermert grabbed the rebound and had another good look from about five feet. But it, too, failed to drop and the game went into overtime.

In the extra four-minute session, Webb and Antrim both scored to put St. Anthony ahead to stay, 52-48. Jordan Hardiek hit a shot to get the Shoes within two, but those were the final points scored by T-Town. Dust hit two free throws and Antrim added two more in the final 47 seconds to seal the victory and the tournament title.

After shooting nearly 50 percent in the opening half, the Shoes went cold thereafter, making just 6-of-32 shots -- a frigid 18 percent – in the final 20 minutes.

“We got bullied in that first half,” Rincker noted. “T-Town owned us on the boards and had too many second chance points. At halftime, I told the kids we needed to compete harder and be more aggressive. We needed to get the ball inside and get to the free throw line. And we needed to play better defense.”

Obviously, the team listened and responded.

St. Anthony got the ball consistently into Dust, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half. The Bulldogs also out-rebounded the Shoes 18-14 in the second half and used their aggressive defense to force nine turnovers.

“I thought our team defense in the second half was phenomenal,” Rincker noted. “Our kids decided they weren’t going to be bullied in the second half and were determined to keep them from scoring. I thought we showed a tremendous amount of character in the second half.”

“My hat is off to St. Anthony,” Reeder added. “They had a hot third quarter. They started working hard, making shots and causing us to turn the ball over. And then their crowd started going nuts. They had the rhythm and momentum and never let it go.”

With 1:03 to play in the first half, however, it looked like the game might turn into a Teutopolis blowout. The Shoes were clicking on offense and creating problems at the defensive end.

Wermert hit a pair of threes and scored eight points in the first period, helping T-Town build an 18-7 lead.

And the Shoes kept it up in the second quarter.

After Matthew Deters scored four points and Luke Ungrund and Jordan Hardiek both added two, T-Town held a seemingly comfortable 29-12 advantage. The Bulldogs scored the final five points of the half, but still trailed 29-17.

THS had three players in double figures. Jordan Hardiek led the way with 14 points, while Wermert scored 13 and Ungrund added 11. Wermert finished with a double-double, also pulling down 11 rebounds.

The Shoes ended up shooting 31 percent, connecting on 18-of-59 attempts. They were 5-for-21 from behind the arc and their free throw shooting woes continued, making just 9-of-19. For their four tournament games, the Shoes shot only 45 percent from the foul line, converting 35-of-77 attempts. T-Town also turned the ball over 19 times.

“I’m proud of these kids,” Reeder said. “They’re upset about the loss and I don’t blame them. I’m so pleased with the improvement we’ve made this week. These kids have nothing to hang their heads about.

“This was a fun week for us,” the THS coach added. “Now, we’ll get back to work on Monday.”

In addition to Dust’s 21 points, Antrim added 16 and both Webb and Hoene scored eight.

The Bulldogs shot 41 percent overall, connecting on 18-of-44 shots. They were 2-of-10 from three-point range and 18-of-32 from the charity stripe. They had 16 turnovers.

“I hope the boys take away a little bit of humility from this game,” Rincker said. “For most of the first half, we got our butts kicked. I don’t want them to forget what that feels like.

“I hope this gives them confidence to know we can compete and find a way to win against the best teams in our area,” Rincker added. “But, I don’t want them to get over-confident. They need to keep fighting and working hard.”

St. Anthony, 4-0, will play at home twice this week – Tuesday against North Clay and Friday against Sullivan.

Teutopolis, 3-1, will return to action Friday at Breese Central.