Basketball

The third scoring spree proved to be the charm for Lincoln-Way East.

The Griffins broke out to a quick 17-point lead, but the St. Anthony Bulldogs got back to within six.

LWE then built a 15-point cushion, only to see SAHS battled back to within four.

But a 15-0 run at the end of the first half and into the third quarter proved to be the knockout blow Wednesday afternoon, as the Griffins went on to post a 64-47 victory and earn a berth in the semifinals of the 8^th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.

Lincoln-Way was torrid shooting the ball, especially from three-point range in the early going. They led 20-3 at one point in the opening eight minutes.

But St. Anthony refused to go away. The Bulldogs responded with a 13-2 run to close within 22-16 at the end of the first period.

The Griffins scored the first nine points of the second quarter to go up 31-16, but, again, the Bulldogs came storming back. They scored the next 11 points to get within 31-27.

LWE scored the last four points of the first half and then George Bellevue opened the second half with a three that sparked another surge. The Griffins scored the first 11 points of the third period to open a 46-27 bulge and were not threatened again.

The victory earned Lincoln-Way East a berth in the semifinal round. The Griffins were scheduled to play again Wednesday, facing Newton at 7:30 p.m. at Teutopolis High School.

LWE got 17 points from Bellevue, plus 14 from Kaiden Ross and 11 from Tylon Toliver. The Griffins shot 67 percent overall, connecting on 26-of-39 attempts. They were 18-for-21 from two-point range, a blistering 86 percent.

The Bulldogs were led by Kyle Stewart, who tallied 19 points. They were 14-for-38 overall, a 37 percent clip.

St. Anthony dropped to 8-6 on the season. The Bulldogs returned to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday, facing Cross Creek rival Teutopolis in J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

If this was the NCAA Tournament, it might have been called a “bracket buster.”

It was the big Champaign school against the small parochial school.

It was a 3A team vs. a 1A team.

It was the National Trail Conference vs. the Big 12.

Most thought this game would be a mere warm-up for Champaign Centennial as it opened play in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.

But somebody forgot to tell St. Anthony it didn’t have a chance.

The Bulldogs led early and kept the game close. And when the ball was handed to Craig Croy in the final seconds, St. Anthony had the Chargers right where they wanted them.

For the second time in 11 days, the senior forward drilled about a 15-foot jumper in the final seconds to give SAHS a win. On Tuesday night, it came with four seconds to play and gave the Bulldogs an unexpected 40-38 victory.

After Centennial’s Jack Young made a free throw to tie the game with 14 seconds to play, it became “Croy Time” for St. Anthony.

Following a timeout, he got the ball, dribbled the length of the floor, made a spin move near the foul line and hit a fade-away jumper that secured the win and advanced the Bulldogs into the tournament quarterfinals.

Croy did the same thing against Dieterich on December 17 from almost the same spot on the floor.

“Once again, Craig showed what he’s capable of doing,” SAHS coach Cody Rincker said. “He got to his spot, elevated and made the shot. I’m sure glad he’s on our team.”

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs opened play Monday in the Mattoon Holiday Tournament and split their two games.

In their opener, the Lady Bulldogs built a halftime edge, but the Olney Lady Tigers used a big third quarter to take the lead, en route to a 64-58 decision.

In Monday night’s final game, SAHS limited Grace Nelson to just 13 points and posted a 47-38 victory over the Altamont Lady Indians.

In the first game, The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-9 lead over Olney and was still on top 26-24 at intermission. But Kenzie Weiter and Sarah Ingram combined to knock down six three-pointers, helping the Lady Tigers go on a 25-13 run in the third period and open a 49-39 lead.

Riley Guy and Lucy Fearday were a good one-two punch for SAHS, scoring 23 and 22 points respectively. Fearday had 14 of her points in the first half and Guy pumped in 16 in the final two quarters.

The Lady Tigers had four players in double figures – Kenzie Weiter with 19, Ingram 15, Grayce Burgener 14 and Kyrstin Weiter 11.

In their second game of the day, SAHS led 13-6 after the first eight minutes and 21-12 at halftime. Fearday had nine points and Guy eight in that first half. The Lady Bulldogs expanded their lead to 38-27 heading into the fourth period.

Fearday finished with 20 points and Guy added 12 in the win. Nelson had six points for Altamont in the opening half, seven in the third quarter and was then held scoreless in the final period.

The Lady Bulldogs are now 8-7 on the season. They are scheduled to be back in action at 10 a.m. today (Tuesday)\ against Galesburg.

For the second day in a row, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs played two games, and for the second straight day, they split those games at the Mattoon Holiday Basketball Tournament.

St. Anthony started the day with a 70-31 win over Decatur Eisenhower and then dropped a 57-33 decision to Galesburg.

The Lady Bulldogs will be back in action today (Wednesday). They will face Altamont in the fifth place game at 4:30 p.m. SAHS just beat the Lady Indians 47-38 in the opening day of the tournament Monday.

In their opening game Tuesday, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 24-9 lead after the first eight minutes and rolled from there. They led 42-17 at halftime and 56-21 after three quarters.

St. Anthony had three players score in double figures. Lucy Fearday led the way with 18 points, while Riley Guy added 16 and Abbi Hatton chipped in 13.

The second game was a different story.

Galesburg led 10-4 after the first period and then went on a 15-7 run to open a 25-11 lead at intermission.

Fearday led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points.

St. Anthony is now 9-8 on the season.

The Olney Tigers converted six straight free throws down the stretch Tuesday night and hung on for a 39-35 victory at St. Anthony.

The undefeated Tigers held a 27-20 lead heading into the final eight minutes, but the Bulldogs got seven points from Griffin Sehy and three-pointers from Max Koenig and Colton Fearday to close the gap. A pair of free throws by Drew Blank, Chase Travis and Colby Redman helped Olney maintain its lead and secure the win.

St. Anthony held a slim 9-8 lead after the first period, but the Tigers responded with a 14-5 run to take a 22-14 advantage at halftime.

Olney, which improved to 11-0, was led by Travis, who scored 16 points.

The Bulldogs got nine points from Sehy and Koenig and eight from Fearday.

The Bulldogs are now 7-5 overall. They will return to action in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic. Their first game will be against Champaign Centennial at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 28. That game will be played at Teutopolis High School.