By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Don’t let the final score fool you.

It was closer than the score might indicate.

Yes, the St. Anthony Bulldogs led from start to finish. And, yes, there were a couple times they threatened to pull away.

But a scrappy Windsor/Stew-Stras team managed to stay within striking distance until the final three minutes of the game.

On a night the St. Anthony basketball program celebrated a milestone achievement, the Bulldogs used an 11-2 run over a three-minute span in the fourth quarter to secure a 62-47 victory at home over the Hatchets in a National Trail Conference contest.

“Credit Windsor/Stew-Stras,” said St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker. “We’d build a lead and then they would come back. They have a lot of seniors that are battle-tested and have done a lot of winning. They never quit playing hard and kept executing their game plan. They just wouldn’t go away.”

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St. Anthony spent a majority of the game at the free throw line, but made it work.

The Bulldogs knocked down 20-of-30 free throws Tuesday night, en route to a 50-39 road victory at Flora.

Griffin Sehy was 6-for-6 from the stripe, while Ryan Schmidt was 5-for-6 and Collin Westendorf 8-for-12, helping SAHS notch its 14^th win of the year.

It was a tight game through three quarters. St. Anthony led 12-8 after the opening eight minutes. It was also just a four-point spread at halftime, 24-20, and after three quarters, 33-29.

The Bulldogs then went 11-for-15 from the foul line in the fourth period to stretch the lead and secure the win.

Brock Fearday scored a game-high 16 points to lead three St. Anthony players in double figures. Westendorf tallied 12 points and Sehy added 10.

The Bulldogs are now 14-7 on the season. They will return home Friday for a National Trail Conference game against Windsor/Stew-Stras.

It will be No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the championship game of the National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament Saturday night.

Top-seeded Neoga and No. 2 St. Anthony both posted wins Thursday night and will now meet in the championship game, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Beecher City High School.

Neoga advanced with a 49-33 win over North Clay.

The Lady Bulldogs also earned a birth in the title game with a 52-43 decision over Brownstown/St. Elmo.

But it didn’t come easy. SAHS outscored the Lady Bombers 21-5 in the fourth quarter to rally for the victory. BSE led 38-31 after three quarters of play.

The Lady Bombers led 14-8 after the opening eight minutes and 25-24 at intermission.

It was a seven-point deficit when the Lady Bulldogs began their comeback in the final period. Stacie Vonderheide went 6-for-6 from the foul line and scored 10 points and Lucy Fearday scored five more to spark the rally. St. Anthony went 13-for-14 from the free throw line in that last quarter.

Lexi Seabaugh led BSE with 12 points.

Vonderheide led all scorers with 18 points, while Nancy Ruholl and Fearday both had 13 for the Lady Bulldogs.

St. Anthony, now 19-4, will face Neoga for the second time in nine days. The Lady Bulldogs beat the Lady Indians 77-37 on January 12.

The No. 2-seeded St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs had no trouble in the opening-round of the National Trail Conference Tournament on Monday.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a quick double-digit lead and then rolled to a 64-36 decision over Dieterich.

St. Anthony will now face Brownstown/St. Elmo in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. All tournament games are played at Beecher City High School.

Nancy Ruholl knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points, while Anna Faber and Lucy Fearday both added six, helping the Lady Bulldogs build a 20-9 lead after the first eight minutes.

Stacie Vonderheide then poured in 14 points in the second period and SAHS expanded its lead to 23 points by halftime, 37-14.

The Lady Bulldogs had four players in double figures. Vonderheide led the way with 16 points, while Fearday finished with 14, Ruholl 12 and Faber 11.

St. Anthony improved to 18-4 on the season.

In other action Monday, Windsor/Stew-Stras beat South Central 40-35; Brownstown/St. Elmo topped Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 47-43; and North Clay beat Altamont 49-37.