Basketball

Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City raced to an early lead and went on to post a 60-42 victory Saturday over St. Anthony in the third place game of the National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament, played in Beecher City.

The Lady Bobcats built a 21-11 lead after the first eight minutes and extended it to 38-22 at halftime. The Lady Bulldogs closed to within 46-33 after three quarters, but never really threatened CHBC down the stretch.

The Lady Bobcats, who were seeded No. 2 in the tourney but got upset by Brownstown/St. Elmo in the semifinals, were led by Jaelyn Robertson’s 26 points. CHBC is now 17-5 on the season.

St. Anthony got 14 points from Riley Guy.

Altamont received a scare from BSE in the championship game before pulling away for a 53-46 win. Neoga beat North Clay 50-45 in the consolation final.

Altamont’s Allyson Hardiek was named the Most Valuable Player and headed a 12-girl all-tournament team. St. Anthony’s Riley Guy was part of that squad, as was Claire Wilhour (BSE), Jaelyn Robertson (CHBC), Mary Guse (Altamont), Olivia Campbell (BSE), Hannah Hayes (Windsor/Stew-Stras), Olivia Titus (Neoga), Allyson Czyzewski (North Clay), Kylee Phillips (Neoga), Carsen Burks (CHBC) and Brooke Runge (Altamont).

The Lady Bulldogs, now 8-13, will return to action Monday at home against South Central.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs outscored Windsor/Stew-Stras 34-12 in the middle two quarters Friday night, en route to a convincing 59-24 victory at Windsor.

The victory was St. Anthony’s 16th of the season against just three losses. It also kept the Bulldogs undefeated in the National Trail Conference at 6-0.

SAHS got off to a bit of a slow start and led just 12-7 after the opening eight minutes. But then the Bulldogs exploded, getting scoring up and down their lineup and outscoring the host Hatchets 18-6 in the second quarter and 16-6 in the third period to build the margin to 46-19.

Jaccob Dust led St. Anthony with 18 points, while Kaden Fearday scored nine. A total of 10 players scored in the game.

The junior varsity game produced a similar result with the Bulldogs posting a 60-20 decision. It was only 9-6 after the first period before the Bulldogs went on a 38-10 scoring spree in the middle two periods to open a 47-16 advantage.

Seth Hotze scored 15 points and Grant Nuxoll added 10.

In addition, the Bulldogs won the freshmen-sophomore contest, 34-24. Colton Fearday had nine points and Eli Levitt eight.

Brody Niebrugge scored 16 points and Kyle Stewart added 10, helping the St. Anthony freshman-sophomore basketball team post a 51-45 victory at home Thursday night over Olney.

The game was close throughout, but the Bulldogs led at the end of each quarter. They were up 11-6 after the first period, 23-19 at halftime and 36-31 heading into the final eight minutes.

The Altamont Lady Indians were the overwhelming favorites to win the National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament and they showed why Thursday night.

The Lady Indians improved to 21-4 with a convincing 61-29 victory over St. Anthony in a semifinal game. They will now face Brownstown/St. Elmo in the tournament championship Saturday night in Beecher City.

Altamont jumped to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 38-12 at halftime. The Lady Indians owned a 59-18 advantage heading into the final period.

Mary Guse led Altamont with a game-high 19 points, all in the first half, and Brooke Runge added 15.

Riley Guy scored nine points and Grace Karolewicz had seven for the Lady Bulldogs.

St. Anthony, now 8-13 on the season, will play Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City for third place at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. In the fifth place contest, South Central will face Dieteich at 2:30 p.m., followed by the consolation championship between Neoga and North Clay at 4 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The St. Anthony freshman and sophomore basketball teams hosted Mattoon Tuesday night and split the two games.

In the freshman game, Mattoon used a 21-9 scoring surge in the third quarter to break a halftime tie and go on to post a 51-43 victory. The score was 23-23 at intermission.

Michael Martelli led the Bulldogs with 11 points, while Griffin Sehy and Jonathan Willenborg both scored nine.

In the sophomore contest, St. Anthony came away with a 33-14 win. The Bulldogs led 20-4 at halftime.

Kyle Stewart pumped in 16 points to lead the Bulldogs.