The early onslaught continued the first 2½ minutes of the second period. Hoene drilled another three and scored the first six points and Fearday added another basket. With 5:31 to play in the opening half, St. Anthony had expanded the margin to 23 points and led 25-2.
“This is on me. I’ve got to do a better job getting us to start a game better,” Reeder said. “This wasn’t just a problem for us tonight. This has been a year-long thing. I’ve got to figure out how to get us ready to play.”
Luke Ungrund hit a pair of threes and Evan Addis came off the bench to score three more, but Hoene scored the final four points of the half, sending the Bulldogs to the locker room with a 34-13 advantage at intermission.
“We really attacked that first half,” Rincker noted. “We establish our drive and then dished out to open shooters. And it always helps when the ball goes through the hoop.”
The Bulldogs connected on 15-of-28 shots in the opening half, a 56 percent clip, while the Shoes were an icy 26 percent, making just 5-of-19 attempts. T-Town also turned the ball over seven times during the first 16 minutes.
“I thought we gave them a couple easy looks in the first half and Jaccob made a few shots,” Reeder said. “But St. Anthony was strong offensively and you have to tip your cap to Cody’s defense. That made it tough on us.”
“They missed some shots they would normally make,” Rincker added. “But I credit our defense for some of that.
“We knew T-Town likes to shoot the three,” the SAHS coach explained. “I thought the guys did a good job of keeping them off the three-point line and then sliding inside to help. I thought we forced them into positions they weren’t comfortable with.”
Even though the margin never dipped below 13 points in the second half, there were a couple times it appeared the Shoes were only a shot or two away from making it a game.
A 3-pointer by Jordan Hardiek and a three-point play by Ungrund got THS within 36-21 at the 3:47 mark of the third period. But Logan Antrim scored six points in 80 seconds, helping the Bulldogs take a 44-25 spread into the final eight minutes.
After Ungrund’s three-point play, the Shoes had two good scoring opportunities that would have narrowed the gap even closer.
“Those two possessions were big for both teams,” Reeder said. “We had two wide open shots that we normally make. If those two go in, who knows what happens after that. But we didn’t make them and St. Anthony responded. Then we just ran out of time.”
T-Town got the lead down to 13 in the fourth quarter. Matthew Deters hit a free throw and Evan Wermert followed with a jumper and then a 3-pointer to make it 48-35 with 4:54 still left. But St. Anthony scored the next six points and made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
St. Anthony didn’t attack in the same manner in the second half, but Rincker said he wasn’t trying to be deliberate.
“Their press did that to us a little,” he noted. “Plus, we had done enough offensively and didn’t have to go to the basket as hard. We wanted to make sure we got good shots. But it was obvious some of our adrenalin had worn down.”
Dust, despite being in foul trouble most of the second half, led all scorers with 17 points, with nine of those coming in the fourth period. He made it a double-double performance by grabbing 11 rebounds.
“But I thought Brock and Matt Deters, plus Jack Poelker when he was in, played tough against Jaccob,” Reeder said. “He had to work for everything he got tonight. Those kids did a tremendous job on him.”
Hoene added 15 points, while Fearday continued his strong play of late with nine.
“I hope Kaden and Jack play like that for them every game,” Reeder said. “If they do, St. Anthony will be very tough to beat. They will be able to do so many more things offensively.”
“They are both playing like seniors,” Rincker added. “They’re playing with confidence and calm. Plus, our team is learning how to play if Jaccob gets in foul trouble. They understand they have to play through that.”
Matthew Deters had a strong game for the Shoes, scoring 13 points and pulling down six rebounds. Ungrund added 11.
Teutopolis dipped to 16-8 on the season. The Shoes will play again tonight (Saturday) at home against Robinson.
The Bulldogs, now 21-3 and ranked No. 6 in the Class 1 poll, will also play again tonight. They will be at home against Newton.
