Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The St. Anthony Bulldogs kept pulling away.

And the North Clay Cardinals kept coming back.

The Bulldogs led by double digits much of the game and by as many as 18 points on four different occasions.

But it took three key free throws in the final 54 seconds to secure a 55-47 victory Tuesday night over North Clay at the Enlow Center.

“Before the game, we talked about the importance of sustaining 32 minutes of focused basketball and limiting our mistakes,” St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker said. “Overall, I thought we played pretty well, but this was also a good learning moment.

“You have to continue to play,” Rincker added. “We didn’t do that and it allowed them to come back several times.”

After a basket by Colton Fearday and a free throw by Collin Westendorf, the Bulldogs had a seemingly comfortable 18-point lead, 48-30, with 3:58 to play.

But over the next three minutes, the Cardinals forced four turnovers and connected on three shots from behind the arc – their only three-pointers of the game – to quickly cut into that margin.

Bryton Griffy started the surge with a bucket. Dakota Weidner knocked down a pair of shots from long range, Collyn Ballard added two buckets, Griffy scored again and Brady Ingram capped the 17-4 run with a three to narrow the gap to 52-47 with 58 seconds still left.

“I was not pleased with that three-minute stretch,” Rincker admitted. “They were the aggressors. We didn’t handle their pressure well at all and that resulted in some turnovers. But then we regrouped and ended the game much better.”

The Bulldogs didn’t turn the ball over in the final minute and got three free throws – one by Max Koenig and two by Griffin Sehy – to close out the game and earn the victory.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs used a strong second half to notch their fifth win of the young season Monday night.

St. Anthony led by just three points at halftime, but then outscored Okaw Valley 30-15 in the final 16 minutes to post the 53-35 road victory.

Riley Guy pumped in 16 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, helping the Lady Bulldogs to a 23-20 lead at intermission. The second half featured a more balanced attack with Grace Karolewicz netting seven points and Stacie Vonderheide and Guy both adding six. Vonderheide also finished in double figures with 10 points.

St. Anthony improved to 5-2 on the season. The Lady Bulldogs will return to action Thursday with a home game against Windsor/Stew-Stras.

Riley Guy poured in 30 points Saturday afternoon, helping the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs post a 70-38 victory over the hosts in the fifth place game of the Lady Maroons Thanksgiving Invitational in Robinson.

Guy scored six points in the opening quarter, but then exploded for 16 more in the second period, helping St. Anthony erase an early deficit and build a 19-point halftime lead, 41-22.

The Lady Bulldogs trailed 17-13 after the first eight minutes, but then went on a 28-5 scoring spree to build the 19-point cushion at intermission. St. Anthony then extended the lead to 58-33 after three periods.

Guy had a total of 13 field goals, with three of those coming from behind the arc, to finish with 30 points. Teammate Lucy Fearday added 14, helping the Lady Bulldogs finish 2-2 in the tournament and improve to 4-2 overall for the season.

St. Anthony will return to action Monday at Okay Valley.

Griffin Sehy connected on a three-pointer and Kyle Stewart added three free throws in overtime, helping St. Anthony notch its first win of the season Saturday, a 62-58 decision over Rantoul.

It was the opening game on the final day of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament and secured a seventh place finish for the Bulldogs.

The game was a see-saw affair. The Eagles broke out to a 12-4 lead after the opening eight minutes, but St. Anthony then went on a 16-6 run to take a 20-18 lead at intermission. Rantoul responded by going on 19-10 scoring spree in the third quarter to take a 37-30 edge into the final period.

Max Koenig then stepped up in a big way. The sophomore came off the bench to knock down three shots from behind the arc and scored 11 points to help the Bulldogs rally and tie the game, 53-53.

Koenig finished with a game-high 22 points, while Stewart added 15. Avontay Anderson and Marcus Lee paced Rantoul with 14 points apiece.

The Bulldogs finished the tournament with a 1-3 record. They will return to action Tuesday night at home against North Clay. It will be their National Trail Conference opener.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs split their two games Saturday in the Lady Marrons Thanksgiving Invitational in Robinson.

In the opener, Richland County (Olney) outscored SAHS 27-14 in the second half to erase a halftime deficit and post a 57-46 victory.

In the second game, the Lady Bulldogs built a 32-11 halftime lead and rolled to a 64-26 win over the Richland County JV team.

In the first contest, Lucy Fearday and Riley Guy combined to score 23 points in the first two quarters and owned a slim 32-30 advantage at intermission. But that duo was limited to 10 second half points and the Lady Tigers came back to get the win.

Fearday finished with 19 points and Guy added 14 for St. Anthony.

The second game was never close. SAHS led 16-5 after the first eight minutes and the rout was on.

St. Anthony had 10 different players score in the game. Anna Faber led the way with 11 points, while Cameron Rios scored 10.