Bulldogs Win Own Thanksgiving Tournament, EHS Loses Third Place Game

St. Anthony  All-Tournament team members present at night's end were, left to right, Alex Deters and Cade Walsh of St. Anthony, Mason Hull of Effingham, Jadyn Prinko of Mattoon and Landon Wolfe of Effingham.

The St. Anthony Bulldogs accomplished something Saturday night that last season's state championship team wasn't able to do; win their own Thanksgiving tournament.

The Bulldogs triumphed over the Robinson Maroons 49-30 for St. Anthony's first championship in the tournament since 2005. Meanwhile, Effingham lost the third place game 62-51 to the Mattoon Green Wave. Both games were heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

St. Anthony and Robinson battled through turnovers and fouls in the first quarter, with the Maroons scoring on a layup at the buzzer to lead 13-11 at the end of the period.

St. Anthony took over from that point, outscoring Robinson 10-2 in the second quarter to lead 21-15 at halftime, and then outpointed the Maroons 28-15 in the second half to post the 19-point win.

St. Anthony shot 56% from the field, despite going 1 of 8 on threes. The Bulldogs were 21 of 31 on two-point tries.

Robinson was 6 of 13 in the first quarter, but made just six more baskets, finishing 12 of 29 from the field, including 2 of 5 threes.

Neither team lit it up from the line, St. Anthony going 2 of 6, Robinson 4 of 9. St. Anthony held a narrow 15-14 rebounding edge, and St. Anthony turned the ball over 13 times to 21 for Robinson.

Alex Deters scored 13 points to pace St. Anthony, who went 3-1 on the week, while Adam Levitt and Luke Ludwig each scored 12 points.

Chance Black scored 9 points to lead Robinson, who finished the tournament 2-2.

Here are the St. Anthony stats: Cade Walsh--0 of 3 from the field, 3 rebounds...Alex Deters--6 of 12 from the field, 1 of 1 from the line, 1 rebound, 13 points...Alex Beesley--4 of 5 from the field, 3 rebounds, 8 points...Adam Levitt--5 of 7 from the field, 1 of 2 from the line, 3 rebounds, 12 points...Jack Nuxoll--1 of 4 from the field, 2 rebounds, 2 points...Brandon Runge--1 of 1 from the field, 1 rebound, 2 points...Luke Ludwig--6 of 6 from the field, 2 rebounds, 12 points...Jaccob Dust--0 of 1 from the field...Wyatt Lawrence--0 of 1 from the line...Bryson Wall--0 of 2 from the line, 2 rebounds

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Effingham fell behind early and had to play catch-up all night.

The Hearts were down 20-12 after one quarter, 31-23 at halftime, 47-38 after three quarters, and lost by 11. Effingham did put on a rush and got within four points, but could never pull ahead in the contest.

The Hearts made just 18 of 55 shots including 5 of 26 threes. Effingham made 10 of 14 foul shots, grabbed 26 rebounds, and turned the ball over just seven times.

Mattoon made 20 of 44 shots, including 6 of 18 threes. The Green Wave made 16 of 19 free throws, pulled down 29 rebounds, and turned it over just six times.

Effingham's Landon Wolfe led all scorers with 24 points, and finished the tournament with 99 points. Mason Hull was also in double figures with 12 points.

Mattoon had four double-figured scorers...Jacob Spitz with 16, DeAndre Thomas and Jayden Noe with 13 apiece, and Jacob Ghere with 11 points.

Here are the Effingham individual stats: Mason Hull--3 of 13 from the field, 3 of 6 from the line, 3 rebounds, 12 points...Landon Wolfe--9 of 19 from the field, 5 of 5 from the line, 12 rebounds, 24 points...Cole Marxman--2 of 5 from the field, 2 of 2 from the line, 5 rebounds, 6 points...Logan Smith--1 of 3 from the field, 2 points...Ryan Sandifer--3 of 12 from the field, 0 of 1 from the line, 2 rebounds, 7 points...Lucas Hagler--0 for 2 from the field, 3 rebounds...Lucas Vasquez--0 for 1 from the field, 1 rebound

The Hearts finished the week with a 2-2 mark, while Mattoon went 3-1 for the tournament.

The St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament All-Tourney Team included Alex Deters and Cade Walsh of St. Anthony...Landon Wolfe, Mason Hull and Ryan Sandifer of Effingham...Jadyn Prinko of Mattoon...Tyler Joest of Breese Central...Walker Sandschafer of Robinson...Jake Kruse of Highland...and Jake Sellett of St. Thomas More.

Effingham St. Anthony captured its own Thanksgiving Tournament championship.