When Logan Antrim knocked down a 3-pointer at the 2:54 mark, it extended St. Anthony’s lead to double digits, 50-40, and started a final surge for the No. 1 seeded Bulldogs. Jack Hoene scored 10 points in the final eight minutes, including four straight free throws. Jaccob Dust also made four foul shots and Antrim added a pair.
When the final horn sounded, St. Anthony seniors Hoene, Dust, Kaden Fearday, Aaron Webb, Jack Elder and Connor Walk had completed a four-year sweep of the NTC Tournament and were joined by their teammates, coaches, cheerleaders and fans to celebrate on the floor at Altamont High School.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a string of some really good players,” Rincker noted. “They all bought in to the daily grind and working on the fundaments, which is what it takes to win. But even with that, they still had to go out and perform, which they did. None of these guys want to be the group that breaks the string and lets things slip.”
After Jared Kollmann grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, the Indians held a slim 6-5 lead just two minutes into the contest. But that was their final lead. Fearday, who played very well throughout the tournament, followed with a bucket that put the Bulldogs ahead for good.
Dust, who only played a little more than half the game due to foul trouble, tallied six points and Fearday added another jumper, helping St. Anthony build a 15-8 edge after the first eight minutes.
It was still a seven-point margin when Kaden Eirhart connected on a three, Teasley converted an SAHS turnover into a basket and Jahraus made a pair of free throws to knot the score at 17-17.
But once again, St. Anthony surged ahead. Webb connected from the behind the arc and Antrim and Hoene both scored to expand the Bulldogs lead to 24-17. It was 26-23 at intermission.
“Altamont has a good team,” Rincker said. “Jahraus can make shots and he can control a game the way he handles the ball. He and Teasley kept us from pulling away.”
But it looked like that’s what might happen late in the third period. A 3-pointer by Fearday and a basket by Elder gave the Bulldogs their largest lead up to that point, 41-29. Altamont trimmed it to 41-33 heading into the final eight minutes.
Jahraus and Eirhart led the Indians scoring attack, putting up 17 and 13 points respectively. Altamont dipped to 19-4 on the season.
The Bulldogs had four players in double figures. Hoene finished with a game-high 19 points, while Dust scored 14 and Fearday and Antrim both added 11.
St. Anthony shot 50 percent from the floor, making 20-of-40 attempts. The Bulldogs were 4-for-10 from behind the arc and 18-for-26 from the foul line. They owned a 23-17 rebounding edge and forced Altamont into 20 turnovers while committing 17 of their own.
Due to early foul problems, reserves Kennan Walsh, Connor Walk, Eli Moore and Elder saw considerable playing time and performed well.
“This was one of the first games we were in foul trouble up and down our lineup,” Rincker noted. “These kids really stepped up and made the most of their opportunity. The moment definitely wasn’t too big for them, which was great to see. We’re going to need them down the stretch this season.”
The Bulldogs, now 20-3, will return to action Friday at home against Teutopolis.
