Despite playing without two starters, the St. Anthony Bulldogs played Belleville East tough before falling 58-44 in Wednesday night’s final game of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.
With Ryan Schmidt injured and Max Koenig forced to sit out a game after being ejected Monday night, the Bulldogs stayed close to the Lancers, especially during the first half.
With Brock Fearday scoring 10 of his game-high 20 points, the Bulldogs were within 26-23 at halftime. But Belleville East then outscored the hosts 32-21 in the second half to pull away and go to 2-0 in the tourney.
Collin Westendorf was also in double figures for SAHS, finishing with 15 points. The Lancers had three players in double figures, led by Jacori Brown’s 13.
The Bulldogs, now 1-1, will face cross-town rival Effingham at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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In Wednesday night’s second game, Mattoon posted a 65-54 victory over Robinson.
Friday’s schedule is as follows – Rantoul vs. Belleville East at 3 p.m.; Breese Central vs. Robinson at 4:30 p.m. Mattoon vs. Champaign Central at 6 p.m.; and Effingham vs. St. Anthony at 7:30 p.m.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
It was a typical first game.
Good plays and bad ones.
Good shots and forced shots.
And plenty of turnovers.
But for the St. Anthony Bulldogs, it was a successful opener.
The Bulldogs raced out to a quick lead and were never threatened, finishing with a 73-43 decision over Rantoul Monday night in an opening-round game of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.
Actually, the outcome was pretty well decided in the first three minutes.
When Ryan Schmidt grabbed a rebound and scored 34 seconds into the contest, it started a scoring run that put the Bulldogs in control. St. Anthony’s press caused Rantoul problems from the beginning. Three turnovers resulted in baskets for SAHS, including a three-point play by Max Koenig.
Collin Westendorf and Brock Fearday also joined in the early scoring fun. When Fearday converted a turnover into a basket at the 4:51 mark of the opening period, the hosts were already comfortably in front, 13-0.
By the end of the quarter, the Eagles had turned the ball over seven times, Feardy and Schmidt both had eight points and the Bulldogs owned a 25-8 edge.
Stacie Vonderheide and Nancy Ruholl combined to score 43 points and helped the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs open their 2023-24 season in impressive fashion Monday night, posting a 61-36 victory at Dieterich.
Vonderheide pumped in 12 points and Ruholl added eight more, as the Lady Bulldogs raced to a 22-7 lead after the first eight minutes and were never threatened. Both Vonderheide and Ruholl knocked down a pair of three-pointers in that opening period.
St. Anthony led 42-30 heading into the final quarter and then went on a 19-6 scoring spree to widen the gap to 25 points by the end of the game.
Vonderheide finished with 27 points and Ruholl added 16. Addi Nuxoll chipped in with nine points.
The Lady Bulldogs will return to action Thursday night. It will be their home opener and they will host Sandoval.
When one player outscores the opposing team, it’s generally not a good night for whoever the opponent is.
Such was the case Thursday night.
Nancy Ruholl poured in 37 points, leading the St. Anthony girls to a lopsided 82-29 victory over Sandoval in the Lady Bulldogs home opener.
Ruholl and Stacie Vonderheide both scored 11 points in the opening eight minutes, helping SAHS build a 26-7 lead. The hosts were never threatened after that.
It was 42-13 at halftime and expanded to 67-25 after three quarters.
Ruholl had 17 points at intermission and then pumped in 15 more in the third period. Vonderheide finished with 23 points and Addysen Rios added 13.
The Lady Bulldogs, now 2-0, will return to action Friday in Robinson at the Lady Maroons Thanksgiving Tournament. They will face Mt. Carmel at 9 a.m. and then Marshall at 2 p.m.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For the second game in a row, the St. Anthony Bulldogs were the heavy underdogs.
And for the second game in a row, they played their opponent on even terms.
In the regional championship, the Bulldogs used a fourth quarter run to take the lead and then maintained it the rest of the way in knocking off Christ Our Rock Lutheran.
Wednesday night’s game followed a similar pattern.
This time, however, it was the opponent that built a late cushion and then hung on.
But St. Anthony had a chance until it’s last-second, game-tying three-pointer was off-target, securing the 48-45 victory for Tuscola in a semifinal game of the Class 1A Altamont Sectional.
The Warriors will now face the host Indians for the sectional title Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Not many were expecting a close game Wednesday night. After all, the Bulldogs had gotten beat twice by Altamont and Tuscola handled the Indians fairly easily just a few weeks ago.
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