St. Anthony Answers Tuscola To Win Sectional Title

By MATT ROBINSON

The Class 1A Arcola Boys Basketball Sectional championship game was an interesting matchup between Effingham St. Anthony and Tuscola Friday evening.

Would the Bulldogs have an answer for the size of Tuscola inside along with their lightning quick point guard? Would Tuscola be able to keep the returning All State forwards of St. Anthony in check?

St. Anthony answered those questions with a 56-40 victory and a berth in super-sectional play.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the contest, however the Warriors turned the tide with a nine to three run to close out the opening quarter and the teams were tied at nine. Interestingly neither team made a two point field goal in the opening stanza. All the points were scored from beyond the arc except for the three free throws from Ryan Schmidt, who was fouled on a three point attempt.

The second quarter saw Tuscola outscore St. Anthony 19-12 for a 28-21 advantage at the half as the size of Tuscola allowed them to secure several offensive rebounds which they turned into several kick out three point shots. They built the largest lead of the game for either team of seven points just ahead of the close of the second quarter.

Tuscola was nine of 24 from the floor, six of 11 from three point range and a perfect five of five from the free throw line in the first half compared to St. Anthony’s six of 16 shooting from the floor, two of six from long range and five of seven shooting at the charity stripe.

How would St. Anthony limit the second chance points in the second half for Tuscola? By ratcheting up the defense and limiting their opportunities from the field. Coach Cody Rincker had the Bulldogs play a more aggressive double teaming, trapping defense that led to 11 second half turnovers limiting the Warriorsto just 13 shots from the field in the second half. The momentum swung to St. Anthony in the third quarter as they put up the four points of the period and eventually took a one point lead, their first lead since the opening quarter. Tuscola did just enough to take a two point advantage at the end of the quarter 37-35.

St. Anthony continued to apply the pressure and regained the lead early in the fourth quarter, this time for good. Tuscola scored its first, and only, field goal of the quarter with just over two minutes left in the contest. The Warriors only managed one more point from the free throw line as the Bulldogs outscored them 21-3 in the final stanza for the 56-40 victory.

At the end of the night the 6-foot-5 Sawyer Woodard and 6-foot-6 Caiden Russo were held to just five points each. Kam Sweetnam, the lightening quick point guard, finished with nine points. Parker James connected on two first half threes for six points. Kaeden Chenowerth hit a late free throw. The only player to reach double figures for Tuscola was guard Logan Kurtz who finished with 14.

The St. Anthony all-staters led the offense as Brock Fearday finished with 20 points while Ryan Schmidt was just behind him with 18 as each battled the size of the Warriors on the defensive end. Will Fearday also finished in double figures with 12 points, but his biggest contribution to the game was likely the on-ball defense he played against the Tuscola point guard.

Sam Link scored three points at a crucial time in the opening minutes of the third quarter, proving to be a threat the Warriors had to account for, all the while playing great help defense. As did Keenan Griffith who also scored three points and did a tremendous job of taking care of the ball for a team that turned it over just six times in a pressure packed contest.

St. Anthony was 18 of 35 from the field, 13 of 16 at the free throw line and 6 of 13 from beyond the three point arc. While Tuscola was 13 of 37 from the field, 8 of 10 at the free throw line and 7 of 18 from three pointrange. Tuscola did outrebound St. Anthony 22-19, but turned the ball over 15 times compared to just six for St. Anthony.

With the win, St. Anthony improved to 31-4 on the season. The win total is the most for any boys’ basketball team in St. Anthony school history, surpassing the mark of 30 wins posted by the 2016-2017 State championship team. The Bulldogs also claimed their seventh sectional championship, the second under Coach Rincker.

Tuscola’s season came to a close with a record of 29-7.

St. Anthony will play Mounds Meridian at the 1A Super-Sectional Monday night at Eastern Illinois University’s Lance Arena. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and can be heard on 97.9XFM.

If the Bulldogs win, they will face either Chicago Hope Academy or LeRoy at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Class 1A State Tournament.

Class 1A Arcola Sectional

ST. ANTHONY (56)

Gonzalez 0-0 -- 0, Waldhoff 0-0 -- 0, Griffith 1-1 -- 3, Gannaway 0-0 -- 0, W. Fearday 4-2 -- 12, Link 1-1 -- 3, Bierman 0-0 -- 0, Schmidt 6-4 -- 18, Wiedman 0-0 -- 0, Jansen 0-0 -- 0, B. Fearday 7-5 -- 20. TOTALS 19 FG, 13 FT.

TUSCOLA (40)

Sweetnum 3-2 -- 9, Kurtz 5-1 -- 14, James 2-0 -- 6, Woodard 2-1 -- 5, Russo 1-2 -- 5, Musgrave 0-0 -- 0, Devlin 0-0 -- 0, Rennels 0-0 -- 0, Spillman 0-0 -- 0, Chenoweth 0-1 -- 1, Wilcox 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 13 FG, 7 FT.

St. Anthony                 9    12    14    21    --    56

Tuscola                       9    19      9      3    --    40

3-point FG -- St. Anthony 5 (W. Fearday 2, Schmidt 2, B. Fearday 1), Tuscola 7 (Kurtz 3, James 2, Sweetnum 1, Russo 1).