01-26-2019
BY JACK BULLOCK
ALTAMONT – When the going got tough in the second half for Effingham St. Anthony head coach Cody Rincker's game plan was simple.

Get the ball to the “big man.”

Six-foot-seven junior center Jacob Dust responded with a 28-point performance, with 22 coming in the final two quarters, as the Bulldogs pulled away late in the game for a 68-50 victory in front of a packed house at Altamont in the 84th annual National Trail Conference Tournament.

After getting away from the host Indians and leading 34-14 at halftime, the Bulldogs survived a huge scare to come away with the win.

This was the third consecutive NTC Tournament title for the program and the 23rd overall.

Dust proved to be unstoppable at times, especially during the second half after Altamont had cut it's 20-point deficit down to just six at 38-32 with 3:41 left in the third quarter.

After missing his first three shots from the floor, Dust canned 13-of-15 the rest of the way, all of which came in close to the basket as Altamont was unable to do much with the 6-foot-7 junior.

“Tonight was the first night that I saw him (Dust) realize that nobody (out there) could guard him. And we got him the ball. And we need to keep doing that because I think there are more nights out there like the one tonight,” said Coach Rincker.

He got help from 6-foot-4 senior Luke Ludwig who finished with 11-points while 6-foot-5 junior Kaden Fearday added seven.

Altamont was led by 5-foot-9 senior guard Alek Biggs with 19-points and 11-points came from 5-foot-10 junior guard Denver Duckwitz.

Coach John Niebrugge's Indians never gave up, despite a poor first half in which they shot just 7-of-23 from the floor and committed eight turnovers.

They had five turnovers in a first quarter where they trailed 15-6 while connecting on just 3-of-10 shots.

Things got worse in a hurry in the second quarter as St. Anthony expanded its advantage.

Following consecutive scores from junior forward Noah Teasley, Duckwitz and Biggs; the Bulldogs closed the second quarter with a 15-2 run.

Dust started the run by hitting a shot in the paint and reserve Aaron Webb came off of the pine to score three critical buckets.

Twice on set plays, Webb found himself open for easy shots after back picks allowed him to be free near the basket.

Fearday canned a 3-pointer from the left wing and Webb's third score gave the Bulldogs a 30-14 lead.

Two free throws by 6-foot-5 senior Bryson Wall and a drive by Ludwig sent St. Anthony to the locker room up by 20-points at the break.

Whatever was ailing the Indians in the first 16 minutes of action went away temporarily in the third quarter.

The Indians came out of the half inspired and they immediately went to work.

Duckwitz and Biggs both came out with big scores.

Duckwitz converted a three-point play and Biggs scored on a pair of drives to the basket.

When senior Troy Klitzing canned a 3-pointer from the right corner, Coach Rincker needed a timeout as the lead had dwindled to just 36-24.

“The boys didn't stop. They didn't quit and they challenged each other and it got us back into the ballgame,” said Coach Niebrugge.

Klitzing hit another 3-pointer from the top of the circle as he got a friendly bounce and Biggs added another drive.

When Biggs connected on 1-of-2 foul shots with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter, the Indians were down just 38-32.

“We talked about it at halftime to get it to ten at the end of the third quarter and then keep chipping away,” said Coach Niebrugge. “We got stops in our run but in the first half and late we didn't get stops. With our guard oriented team, they (St. Anthony) play really good man-to-man half-court defense and they are so long. In the first half we dribbled a bit too much and they got some deflections and run outs.”

However, from that point forward, St. Anthony made Altamont “Eat Some Dust.”

The senior center took over the contest.

Dust scored eight-straight points, with all four baskets coming from the low post.

Ludwig converted a lob pass into points as the Bulldogs extended the lead back to double-figures at 48-38 heading into the fourth quarter.

“You knew at their place and their gym (Altamont) that they were going to come back with a fight,” said Coach Rincker. “John (Coach Niebrugge) does a great job and his kids are always playing hard. They don't quit and we talked about it before the game about being able to handle adversity. After we got off to the big lead and they made their run, I thought we settled down and handled it.”

Dust scored the first four points inside to begin the final frame before Fearday added a pair of free throws to extend the lead.

Fearday also grabbed an air ball rebound from Ludwig and stuck it home for a score.

Dust then finished the 10-1 run to open the quarter, pushing the lead to 58-39.

Another Dust bucket and a transition score from sophomore Logan Antrim gave St. A a 62-42 lead.

“He (Dust) is really good inside and he takes contact better than most of the post players we have played this year,” said Coach Niebrugge. “When they needed a basket he got it for them.”

Two 3-pointer from Teasley and Biggs cut into the lead but the Bulldogs got two more baskets from Dust and two free throws by junior Jack Hoene to close the book on yet another championship for the Bulldogs.

St. Anthony finished with 10 turnovers and 28-of-50 (56 percent) from the field overall, 3-of-8 from the 3-point line.

Coach Rincker saw hit club control the boards with a 27-17 rebounding edge, with Dust leading the way with eight-rebounds.

19-of-43 from the floor (44.1 percent)

“It (three in a row) is special. We can't take these (championships) for granted. The only time we won more than this (in a row) was back in the 1950's (1955-58). It (winning it) means something to these guys; it's special,” said Coach Rincker.

Coach Greg Feezel's club got 21-points from Nate Philpot.

The 6-foot senior scored 18 of his points in the fourth quarter, hitting a couple of 3-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws to lead St. Elmo/Brownstown to the victory.

Six-foot-six junior Jacob Baron toss in 12-points while 6-foot-2 sophomore Nick Rosborough collected 11-points for the cause.

The Eagles (13-10)ended up 17-of-21 from the foul line, 9-of-10 in the final frame.

Neoga fell to 12-9 on the season for head coach Andrew Snow.

The Indians placed three players in double-figures in scoring with 6-foot-2 junior Trevor Roy pacing the club with 16-points.

Five-foot-ten freshman Nick Titus added 14-points while 6-foot sophomore Reese Johnson added 13.

The Cougars were dead-eyes from the foul line, nailing down 20-of-24 from the line in the game, including 14-of-17 to close out the win late.

Six-foot-three junior forward Hunter Brandt added nine-points in the victory.

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg (13-11) was led by freshman Gavan Wernsing with 16-points.

The Hatchets were just 8-of-20 from the foul line, missing 4-of-5 free throws in the last quarter.