St. Anthony never trailed and led by double digits much of the game. But Dieterich never let it get out of hand and was always within striking distance.

The Bulldogs defense forced six turnovers in the opening eight minutes and they converted four of those into baskets. An 11-2 run early opened a 13-4 lead, with Aaron Webb connecting on his first of three 3-pointers in the game.

Jaccob Dust, St. Anthony’s 6’7” center, was dominant in that opening quarter, pumping in eight points and helping the Bulldogs open a 23-12 lead by the end of the first period.

The lead fluctuated between 9 and 13 points in the second quarter. And at intermission, it was still an 11-point spread, 34-23.

The Movin’ Maroons opened the second half on fire. Collin Hartke scored three points and Derek Kull and Britton both scored to close the gap to 36-30 and gain the momentum.

“Two years ago, when Dieterich made its move, that’s when our wheels started to come off,” Rincker recalled. “You have to respect road games and be ready to compete for 32 minutes. Tonight, when things started to get close, we were able to bear down. We did a much better job of handling the moment.”

Dust scored just 13 seconds after the lead was trimmed to six. Logan Antrim then converted a turnover into a layup and Webb scored from behind the arc to expand the Bulldogs advantage to 43-30 at the 3:49 mark of the third quarter.

Another three by Webb gave St. Anthony a 16-point edge, 48-32. It was a 12-point bulge, 52-40, heading into the final eight minutes.

A basket by Kull got the Movin’ Maroons within 54-44, but that was the closest it got. The Bulldogs scored the next six points to put the game away.

“We had a lot of players make an impact tonight,” Rincker said. “(Jack) Elder gives us a lift every single game off the bench. Connor Walk stepped up the most tonight. He had great production in the short time he was in. Antrim made some big shots for us and Webb knocked down some threes. Overall, I was pleased with how we played.”

Dieterich showed patience on offense and did a better job taking care of the basketball in the second half, which prevented St. Anthony from playing at the speed it would prefer.

“They slowed us down tonight, which was tough on our kids at first,” Rincker said. “We just have to learn not to be over-zealous. Sometimes, after we make a couple steals, we start over-running plays, fouling and even turning the ball over more than we should.

“We have to be content playing within ourselves and playing disciplined,” Rincker added. “I thought tonight was a good learning experience for us. I’m excited about how the game played out and how we handled things.”

The Bulldogs had four players in double figures. Antrim led the way with 18 points, while Dust scored 15, Webb 11 and Hoene 10. Dust turned in a double-double performance as he also pulled down 10 rebounds.

St. Anthony shot 54 percent, connecting on 28-of-52 shots overall. They were 4-of-12 from three-point range and 6-for-9 from the foul line. They held a 22-15 rebounding edge and forced 16 turnovers.

Cole Niebrugge led Dieterich with 11 points and Britton finished with 10. The Movin’ Maroons shot 50 percent from the field, making 17-of-34 attempts. They were 5-of-9 from behind the arc and 10-of-13 from the free throw line.

“We need to be in games like this,” Rincker noted. “We learn a lot from close, competitive games.”

Dieterich dropped to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the National Trail Conference.

The Bulldogs remained undefeated, improving to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the NTC.

St. Anthony will return to action Monday with a home game against Olney.

The Bulldogs also won the junior varsity game 62-16. Craig Croy pumped in 26 points.