The St. Anthony Bulldogs saw their seven-game winning streak come to a halt Saturday after dropping a close 57-54 decision at Charleston.

The game was close the entire way.

The Bulldogs led by two points, 17-15, after the opening eight minutes, and trailed by two, 31-29, at halftime. The host Trojans held a three-point edge, 43-40, heading into the final period, and then settled for the three-point win.

Charleston improved to 8-2. Jackson Braun led the way with 17 points, while William Applegate added 13.

Craig Croy paced the Bulldogs with 17 points. Griffin Sehy also cracked double figures, finishing with 11.

The Bulldogs are now 7-4 overall. They will return home Tuesday to face an undefeated Olney team. The Tigers are 9-0 and led by Chase Travis, who is averaging 23 points a game.

The winning streak is now at six for the St. Anthony Bulldogs.

They extended that Tuesday night with a 54-42 victory at Newton.

Griffin Sehy and Craig Croy both scored six points and Max Koenig added five more, helping the Bulldogs build a 19-7 lead after the opening eight minutes. Newton got within seven points, 25-18, at halftime, but SAHS outscored the Eagles 13-8 in the third period to re-establish the double-digit lead, 38-26.

The Bulldogs finished with three players in double figures – Croy with 14 points, Kyle Stewart with 13 and Sehy with 10. Koenig came close to making it four, finishing with nine points.

The Bulldogs are now 6-3 overall. They will return to National Trail Conference play Friday night, with a game at Dieterich. St. Anthony will then travel to Charleston on Saturday.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The only drama was whether Craig Croy would make the shot.

There was never a doubt as to who would take the shot.

The St. Anthony senior got the ball near mid-court, took a couple dribbles toward the basket, did a spin and hit a 15-foot jumper from the left side of the lane with just three seconds to play Friday night, giving the Bulldogs a hard-fought 42-40 victory at Dieterich.

“He was the guy that was going to take the last shot,” SAHS coach Cody Rincker said. “In the years I’ve been here, there’s only been one other player I could see doing something like that and that was Drew Gibson.

“We just got the ball in Craig’s hands and let him use his athleticism to get his shot,” Rincker added. “He doesn’t mind taking the big shots when they’re needed and we needed it tonight. It was nice to see the ball go in.”

Dieterich coach Brent Bohnhoff also knew Croy would have the ball in his hands.

“We wanted to double team him, but that’s what basketball is all about,” Bohnhoff noted. “Good players make big plays and he made a big play when they needed it most.”

The Movin’ Maroons did manage to get off a desperation three at the buzzer, but it was off-target, securing the big National Trail Conference victory and keeping the Bulldogs atop those standings with a perfect 4-0 record.

But it certainly didn’t come easy.

When Caleb Gephart knocked down a three-pointer one minute into the fourth period, Dieterich had its first lead of the game, 32-30. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes. When Andrew Lidy converted a St. Anthony turnover into a layup, the Movin’ Maroons had their final lead, 36-34, with 4:14 to play.

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The St. Anthony Bulldogs got a big conference road victory Friday night and Craig Croy certainly helped make that happen.

The senior forward pumped in a game-high 26 points to help the Bulldogs stay unbeaten in the National Trail Conference and stretch their winning streak to five with a 68-37 win at St. Elmo/Brownstown.

St. Anthony had a double-digit lead, 12-2, after the opening eight minutes and then blew the game open in the second period. Croy knocked down a three and scored 14 points, as the Bulldogs built a 34-12 cushion by halftime.

SEB closed the gap a little, 46-28, after three quarters, but St. Anthony then went on a 22-9 scoring spree to close out the game, finishing with the 31-point decision.

In addition to Croy, Adam Rudibaugh and Kyle Stewart also finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.

After dropping their first three games in the Thanksgiving Tournament, the Bulldogs have now won five straight and stand at 5-3 overall. They are also 3-0 in the NTC. They will return home Tuesday to face Newton.