For the second game in a row, St. Anthony used a big fourth to come away with a victory.

Saturday night, the Bulldogs rallied from an eight-point deficit and eventually beat Charleston in overtime.

Tuesday night, SAHS had a slim two-point lead heading into the final eight minutes, then went on a 17-9 surge to post a 44-34 road win at Richland County (Olney).

The Bulldogs led at every stop – 9-3 after the first period; 23-18 at halftime; and 27-25 after three quarters.

In the final period, Collin Westendorf and Michael Martelli both scored six points and Brock Fearday added four more to help St. Anthony notch its eighth win of the year. Martelli was 6-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch to help the Bulldogs secure the victory.

Fearday finished with a game-high 17 points and Westendorf added 10.

The Bulldogs improved to 8-4 overall. They will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 28. They will play Lutheran North in an opening-round game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic. That game will be played at 4:30 p.m. at Teutopolis High School.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs got back on the winning track Saturday, traveling to Arthur and posting a 66-39 victory over Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond (ALAH).

Lucy Fearday scored 10 points in the opening eight minutes, helping the Lady Bulldogs build a 23-6 lead and they cruised from there.

Stacey Vonderheide tallied 13 points in the second quarter, and at halftime, SAHS was on top 40-21. The Lady Bulldogs expanded that to 58-32 heading into the final period.

Fearday, Nancy Ruholl and Stacy Vonderheide combined to score 58 points. Fearday finished with a game-high 24 points, while Ruholl and Vonderheide both scored 17.

St. Anthony snapped a two-game skid and improved to 11-2 on the season. They will be off until playing in the Mattoon Holiday Tournament, which is scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, Dec. 27-29. They will play two games on December 27 – against Champaign Central at 8:30 a.m.; and against Sullivan at 7:30 p.m.

They will face Galesburg at 10 a.m. on December 28 and then complete tourney play with a game later that day and one more on December 29.

St. Anthony staged a fourth quarter rally to force overtime and then had a big extra session to notch a 61-51 victory at home Saturday night over Charleston.

Heading into the final period, the Bulldogs trailed 38-30. Charleston didn’t hit a field goal in the last eight minutes, converting 8-of-12 free throws. But Collin Westendorf knocked down a three and scored five points and Griffin Sehy added four more, helping SAHS go on a 16-8 scoring surge to tie the game at 46-46 and force an additional four minutes.

In the overtime period, Michael Martelli drilled a three-pointer, the Bulldogs converted 6-of-7 free throws and outscored the Trojans 15-5 to secure the win.

Charleston led for most of the contest. Luke Bonnstettler hit a pair of shots from long range, helping the Trojans take a 15-8 lead after the opening period. The guests were still on top 20-16 at halftime.

Charleston had three players in double figures – Jake Hess with 15, Bonstettler 14 and Will Applegate 13.

St. Anthony also had three players crack double figures. Westendorf had a game-high 18 points, while Fearday and Sehy added 14 and 13 points respectively.

The Bulldogs improved to 7-4 overall. They will travel to Olney to play Richland County on Tuesday night.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It’s easy to get comfortable behind the arc and fire up three-pointer after three-pointer.

Through the first nine games and two quarters, 40 percent of St. Anthony’s shots were coming from long range. But the Bulldogs have only been converting those at a 25 percent clip.

That’s not good.

Through the first half Friday night, that trend had not changed. Twelve of the Bulldogs 26 shots – 46 percent – were heaved up from three-point land. And holding true to form, they made just three of those – exactly 25 percent – while shooting at just 27 percent overall.

Cody Rincker’s halftime talk about the importance of shot selection finally resonated with his team. The Bulldogs greatly reduced their three-point attempts in the final two quarters, creating much higher percentage shots in their offense. The result was very impressive.

St. Anthony torched the nets in the second half, making nearly 60 percent of its shots, and turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 29-point victory, posting a 61-32 decision at home over Dieterich.

“We need to take about 25 percent of our shots from three-point range and that’s all,” Rincker noted. “The better shots will increase our chances to score more points. These are smart kids and they adjusted well. During the second half, they did a very good job of being selective.”

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