St. Anthony spent a majority of the game at the free throw line, but made it work.

The Bulldogs knocked down 20-of-30 free throws Tuesday night, en route to a 50-39 road victory at Flora.

Griffin Sehy was 6-for-6 from the stripe, while Ryan Schmidt was 5-for-6 and Collin Westendorf 8-for-12, helping SAHS notch its 14th win of the year.

It was a tight game through three quarters. St. Anthony led 12-8 after the opening eight minutes. It was also just a four-point spread at halftime, 24-20, and after three quarters, 33-29.

The Bulldogs then went 11-for-15 from the foul line in the fourth period to stretch the lead and secure the win.

Brock Fearday scored a game-high 16 points to lead three St. Anthony players in double figures. Westendorf tallied 12 points and Sehy added 10.

The Bulldogs are now 14-7 on the season. They will return home Friday for a National Trail Conference game against Windsor/Stew-Stras.

The No. 2-seeded St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs had no trouble in the opening-round of the National Trail Conference Tournament on Monday.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a quick double-digit lead and then rolled to a 64-36 decision over Dieterich.

St. Anthony will now face Brownstown/St. Elmo in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. All tournament games are played at Beecher City High School.

Nancy Ruholl knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points, while Anna Faber and Lucy Fearday both added six, helping the Lady Bulldogs build a 20-9 lead after the first eight minutes.

Stacie Vonderheide then poured in 14 points in the second period and SAHS expanded its lead to 23 points by halftime, 37-14.

The Lady Bulldogs had four players in double figures. Vonderheide led the way with 16 points, while Fearday finished with 14, Ruholl 12 and Faber 11.

St. Anthony improved to 18-4 on the season.

In other action Monday, Windsor/Stew-Stras beat South Central 40-35; Brownstown/St. Elmo topped Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 47-43; and North Clay beat Altamont 49-37.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It was supposed to be a “Game of the Year” type of experience.

Two good teams that play in the same conference.

And both ranked in the Top 10 of the Class 1A poll.

But it was not at all what anyone expected.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs made sure of that.

They scored the first 10 points of the game and just continued to roll.

When the final horn sounded Thursday night, the Lady Bulldogs had posted a dominating 77-37 victory at home over Neoga.

Griffin Sehy and Max Koenig combined to score 12 fourth-quarter points Friday night, helping the St. Anthony Bulldogs get a big road win, topping Breese Mater Dei, 56-52.

The hosts led throughout. Nick Lampe and Drake Wagner both knocked down a pair of three-pointers and the Knights built a 22-15 lead after the opening eight minutes. Collin Westendorf then scored seven points in the second period, helping the Bulldogs close to with 32-29 at intermission.

Mater Dei was still on top by three, 42-39, heading into the final quarter. Koenig went 5-for-5 from the foul line and scored all seven of his points, while Sehy was 3-for-5 from the stripe and added five more, as SAHS outscored Mater Dei 17-10 to emerge with the four-point win.

Sehy finished with a game-high 18 points, scoring nine in both halves. Westendorf added 17, with 13 of those coming in the first 16 minutes.

The Bulldogs are now 13-7 on the season. They will travel to Flora on Tuesday.

Two of the top 10 ranked Class 1A teams in the state will be battling in the annual National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament, which will begin on Monday, Jan. 16.

All games will be played at Beecher City High School.

The Neoga Lady Indians and St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs are seeded No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Those teams are currently ranked 5th and 8th in the Class 1A polls.

The rest of the tournament seeds include – No. 3 Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City (CHBC); No. 4 North Clay; No. 5 Altamont; No. 6 Brownstown/St. Elmo (BSE); No. 7 Dieterich; No. 8 South Central; and No. 9 Windsor/Stew-Straws (WSS).

The tournament will begin on Monday, followed by games on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Here is the schedule:

Monday, Jan. 16

Game 1 – 10 a.m. -- South Central vs. WSS

Game 2 – 11:30 a.m. – St. Anthony vs. Dieterich

Game 3 – 1 p.m. – CHBC vs. BSE

Game 4 – 2:30 p.m. – North Clay vs. Altamont

  1. Early scoring surge puts Bulldogs in control over Neoga
  2. Lady Bulldogs hang on to beat Flora
  3. St. Anthony builds quick lead, rolls to 55-23 win over Paris
  4. Lady Bulldogs roll to 82-39 win at Shelbyville