Champaign Centennial advanced to the semifinals with a 67-50 victory over St. Anthony Friday afternoon in second-round play of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.

The Chargers jumped out to a 16-7 lead after the first quarter, increased it to 33-16 at halftime and were never threatened. They were scheduled to meet Lutheran North Friday night, with the winner advancing to the championship game Saturday night.

Centennial shot the ball very well. Overall, they made 63 percent of their shots, connecting on 24-of-38 attempts. The Chargers were 8-for-16 from three-point range and 11-for-15 from the foul line.

They had four players reach double figures. Jacobi Posey led the way with 16 points, while Todd Makabu scored 14, O’Neil Johnson added 13 and Jadin Schilb chipped in with 12.

Brock Fearday led St. Anthony with 16 points, while Collin Westendorf added 13. The Bulldogs shot just 38 percent overall, connecting on 17-of-45 shots. They were 3-for-15 from behind the arc and 13-of-19 from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs, now 11-3 overall, were scheduled to face Oak Lawn at 6 p.m. Friday. If they win that game, they will play in the fifth place game at 3 p.m. Saturday. If they lose, they will play in the seventh place game at 11:30 a.m. All of those games will be at Effingham High School.

Here is a roundup of the other games played Friday morning and afternoon.

Newton 75, Belvidere 67

Caden Nichols and Parker Wolf combined to score 49 points Friday morning, leading the Newton Eagles to a 75-67 decision over Belvidere.

Newton outscored the Bucs 20-10 in the second period to build a 37-25 halftime advantage.

Nichols finished with 27 points, while Wolf added 22. Jason Dean scored 28 points for Belvidere.

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Stacie Vonderheide poured in 34 points and the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs used a dominating second half performance to earn a 60-38 victory over Mahomet-Seymour Thursday afternoon.

That win gave the Lady Bulldogs a 1-1 record and a second place finish in Pool A in the Coles County Holiday Tournament. They dropped a 55-42 decision to Mattoon on Thursday morning.

Vonderheide scored 17 points in both halves. It helped SAHS build a 31-20 halftime lead.

It was still an 11-point bulge, 41-30, heading into the final eight minutes. Vonderheide scored nine points, while Nancy Ruholl and Addi Nuxoll both had five, as the Lady Bulldogs outscored Mahomet-Seymour 19-8 to finish with the 22-point win.

Vonderheide finished with a double-double after grabbing 11 rebounds. In addition, she had six steals. Ruholl was also in double figures with 11 points.

The Lady Bulldogs, now 10-5 on the season, will play two games Friday. St. Anthony will face Teutopolis at 11:30 a.m. at Mattoon High School. The Lady Shoes finished second in Pool B.

The winner of the SAHS-THS battle will then play for fifth place at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Mattoon High School. The loser will play for seventh place. That game will also be at 4:30 p.m. at Charleston High School.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The St. Anthony starters played with some urgency for only about 15 minutes Thursday night.

That included four minutes of extra time.

But it was a near four-minute stretch by the non-starters that just might have made the difference.

The Bulldogs were trailing 38-30 just a minute and a half into the second half when Cody Rincker pulled his starters from the game.

“We played with no urgency that first half and we weren’t doing any better at the start of the second half. There was still no urgency or determination,” Rincker said. “I decided it was time to send a message.”

When he put his starters back in, it was still an eight-point deficit.

“That second group held them scoreless for nearly four minutes,” Rincker noted. “I thought Aiden (Lauritzen) diving for that loose ball was the spark we needed. When the starters went back in, they played much different and much better the rest of the way.”

St. Anthony erased the deficit, eventually knotted the score at 51-51 and then held a narrow 4-1 scoring edge in overtime to come away with a 59-56 win over Mattoon in an opening-round game of the 10^th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.

But it was an uphill battle almost the entire way.

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The Mattoon Lady Green Wave used scoring runs in the second, third and fourth quarters to pull away and post a 55-42 victory Thursday morning over the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs in an opening-round game of the Coles County Holiday Tournament.

The game was played at Mattoon High School.

With Stacie Vonderheide scoring 10 points, the Lady Bulldogs built a 15-10 lead after the opening eight minutes.

But Mattoon responded with its first run. Kameron Latherup scored four points, and Bella Masse and Ella Conyers both knocked down three-pointers, helping the Lady Green Wave go on a 12-2 spurt and take a 22-17 lead midway through the second period.

St. Anthony responded with an 8-0 surge of its own. Nancy Ruholl made four free throws and Addi Nuxholl and Kallie Kabbes both scored two points, helping SAHS reclaim the lead, 25-22. But Mattoon’s Emily Maple made back-to-back shots from behind the arc that sent the Lady Green Wave to the locker room with a 28-25 edge at intermission.

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