The St. Anthony Bulldogs did it.
The Lincoln Way East Griffins had won 11 straight games and captured the last two Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic titles.
There will not be a three-peat.
The Bulldogs made sure of that with their 65-54 victory Friday night.
St. Anthony trailed 44-43 after three quarters, but then outscored the Griffins 22-10 in the final eight minutes to notch their 10th straight win of the season and earn a spot in this tournament’s championship game for the first time.
And it should be a good one. The Bulldogs will tangle with their cross-creek rivals – the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes. The game is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Effingham High School.
“We’re going to enjoy this one tonight, but the tournament is not over,” said a happy St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker. “We’ll get back at it tomorrow. You know T-Town will be ready to go, too. It should be quite a game.”
The game was tight virtually all the way. St. Anthony built an eight-point lead in the fourth period, but Lincoln Way East battled back to within three. That’s when Ryan Schmidt nailed a three-pointer from the wing to expand the lead back to six and the Griffins never got closer than that down the stretch.
Schmidt, Brock Fearday and Sam Link hit crucial free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win and a spot in the finals.
Fearday finished with a game-high 24 points, while Schmidt added 21.
“This was a whale of a ballgame,” Rincker said. “It took a great effort by our kids. It took a full 32 minutes. I’m so proud of the boys. They never lost their energy or their focus. And now we get to play in the championship game for the first time. It’s exciting.”
St. Anthony improved to 12-2 on the season.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Too bad there’s not a City Series for girls basketball this year.
If there was, we’d have a deciding Game 3 to look forward to.
The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs and Effingham Lady Hearts met just eight days ago, with the EHS girls posting a 59-41 decision.
But the Lady Bulldogs got even Friday afternoon, earning a 47-38 victory in the Coles County Girls Holiday Basketball Tournament.
“This is a big win for our program,” said Aaron Rios, the St. Anthony head coach. “I’ve never beaten them. I bet it’s been at least a decade. It’s nice to pick up wins against both Effingham and Teutopolis this year.”
Jeff Schafer is in his 27th season as head coach of the Lady Hearts. He said this is only the second time he’s lost to St. Anthony.
When a team shoots under 30 percent, it’s considered a bad shooting game. But what if a team shoots under 20 percent?
After the game, one coach is probably going to credit his defense and the other is just going to talk about a cold shooting game for his offense.
In the case of Friday’s game, both of those descriptions would be accurate.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Nobody knew what to expect.
Questions ranged from “How good is the team from Oregon?” to “Where is Oregon?”
Oregon is about 35 miles south of Rockford. The high school includes kids from both Oregon and Mt. Morris and has an enrollment of 417.
The Hawks, making their first appearance in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic, entered Thursday night’s action with a 7-4 record.
For one quarter, it looked like it might be a close game.
But funny how a 17-0 scoring run can change all that.
That’s exactly what the St. Anthony Bulldogs did in the second quarter Thursday night, turning a tie ballgame into a 17-point spread, en route to a 64-38 victory in an opening-round game at Effingham High School.
St. Anthony was scheduled to face Chicago Brooks at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
The Bulldogs had a 12-6 lead early, but Oregon’s Noel Campos came off the bench to drill a three-pointer just ahead of the first-period buzzer and then connected again from long range just 34 seconds into the second quarter to tie the game at 12-12.
The St. Anthony Bulldogs are in the semifinals of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
The Bulldogs advanced by posting an impressive 57-38 victory over Chicago Brooks in a second-round game Friday afternoon at Effingham High School.
St. Anthony will now face Lincoln Way East at 7:30 p.m. Friday. That game will also be played at EHS. Lincoln Way East reached the semifinals with a 65-50 win over Tolono Unity.
The Bulldogs failed to make a shot from the floor in the first quarter and trailed 10-4 after the first eight minutes.
But the next 16 minutes belonged to the team in red and white. SAHS outscored the Eagles 33-13 in the middle two quarters to erase that early deficit and take a 37-23 lead into the fourth period.
Will Fearday and Ryan Schmidt both scored 15 points to lead the Bulldogs. Bryce Hayes and Bradley Pike both scored seven for Chicago Brooks.
St. Anthony improved to 11-2 on the season.
The winner of the St. Anthony-Lincoln Way East will play for the tournament championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The loser will be in the third place game at 6 p.m. Both of those games will be played at Effingham High School.
The St. Anthony bulldogs used a big third quarter to start pulling away, en route to an impressive 68-48 victory Monday night at Olney.
The Bulldogs, who trailed 14-11 after the opening eight minutes, held a slim 29-26 edge at halftime. Brock Fearday then connected on a pair of three-pointers and scored 11 points in the third period, helping St. Anthony go on a 22-8 scoring surge to open a 17-point gap, 51-34.
Fearday made five shots from behind the arc and finished with a game-high 29 points. Ryan Schmidt scored 20 points, including 11 in the second period when the Bulldogs turned a three-point deficit into a three-point lead at intermission. Keenan Griffth also cracked double figures with 10.
St. Anthony, winners of seven in a row, improved to 9-2 on the season. The Bulldogs will return to action Thursday in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic. They will face Oregon at 6 p.m. That game will be played at Effingham High School.
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