The visiting Effingham St. Anthony Bulldogs gave a collective “thank you very much” to the gracious hosts.

In one of the few contests played on this snowy, cold evening, Coach John Niebrugge's Tribe should have stayed huddled in the tee-pee on this “Three Dog Night.”

Altamont was just 18-of-62 from the field. Despite a pretty good defensive effort, the shots (of which there were many) failed to find the mark.

The Indians didn't get much done when they got sent to the free throw line, making just 6-of-12 from the stripe.

On the other hand, the Bulldogs from up the road took advantage of the Altamont woes and made just enough shots of their own in picking up a 51-47 win, a spread which could have been greater had St. Anthony been more proficient from the foul line in the final eight minutes.

Head coach Cody Rincker saw his club improve to 17-10 overall in taking sole possession of second place in the National Trail Conference with the victory behind 13-points from Andrew Gardewine and 11-points and nine-rebounds from Nick Grunloh in the win, improving the Bulldogs to 8-1 in the league standings.

“We have had some close games this season where we have been in this situation and we haven't been able to find a way to 'want it' more but I thought tonight we kept going to the basket and shots finally started falling. We got a big shot from Braden (Pucket) to give us the lead in the fourth and it helped get us going,” said Coach Rincker. “Our kids did a great job of competing tonight and they didn't give up. It's a big game and an exciting win. It was a win that was much needed at this time of the year.”

Altamont was led by sophomore Ryan Armstrong with 14-points while junior Klaiton Wolff added 11.

Shooting issues aside, Coach Niebrugge's club could have still managed a victory had they just made two more of their three point attempts.

Mainly due to St. Anthony missing five consecutive free throws late in the contest that would have sewn up the victory minutes before.

However as part of the shooting performance, Altamont was just 4-of-22 from the floor in the fourth quarter.

“We were short (with our shots) all night and we had a snow day yesterday where we didn't get to practice. We pride ourselves on conditioning but our legs just weren't there tonight,” said Coach Niebrugge. “We will just have to get back after it. We will do some 'tired shooting' in practice tomorrow. We played defensively well enough to win but we just didn't shoot the basketball well. Some nights that happens.”

St. Anthony took advantage of the host having problems by hitting 3-of-6 shots to open the fourth quarter to take command of the contest.

Trailing 32-30 heading into the final frame, the Bulldogs got a key 3-point shot to open the stanza from senior Braden Puckett.

This shot from the left wing gave St. Anthony back the lead.

Following two free throws by senior Conner Greene for the Dawgs, Altamont tied the game for the final time on a 3-pointer by junior Branden Hosick to even things at 35-each.

St. Anthony took over from there, getting two more free throws by Greene and back-to-back scores from Grunloh and Gardewine.

Grunloh nailed his only 3-pointer of the night and Gardewine cashed in on a mid-range shot near the foul line for a 42-35 lead, which forced an Altamont timeout.

In what turned out to be a microcosm of the whole night for the Indians, on the next trip down the floor Coach Niebrugge's team missed four consecutive shots on one possession while gathering three offensive boards.

The trip came up empty.

Altamont, despite several chances late, would only get as close what turned out to be the final score.

Grunloh was the 'go-to' guy late as he was fouled on three consecutive offensive trips.

The 6-foot-3 forward canned six-straight from the foul line to help keep the Indians at bay.

When he made his final FT of the run, St. Anthony seemed to have iced the game on this snowy night, 48-39 with 1:26 remaining.

But as it turned out Altamont wasn't quite finished.

The chances came late as in the final minute the Bulldogs left the door ajar by missing five-straight free throws despite being in the double-bonus.

The problem for Altamont was that they couldn't make enough shot from the field with the opportunities.

In the offensive possessions, in between the missed free throws, Altamont missed three straight shots (three 3-pointers).

By the time Altamont sophomore Evan Cornett grabbed a rebound for a score with :32.5 remaining, the Tribe still trailed 49-43.

The Bulldogs limped to the finish line with 2-of-4 free throws in the final seconds and Altamont added a pair of late baskets, a drive by Armstrong and a score from the left wing by senior Justin Goeckner as time expired on the Indians' loss.

As it turned out Altamont's best run of the night was in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 11-6 advantage.

Armstrong scored twice in the frame on a drive to the basket and his only 3-point bomb of the night.

A basket by Grunloh closed the quarter with St. A down just three.

The best of the shooting quarters, which wasn't spectacular from either team, happened in the second as they combined to make 9-of-19.

When your best run of the night is 6-0, it usually isn't a good sign.

Altamont scored six-straight with Wolff hitting a 3-pointer in the run.

Later in the quarter the Indians got consecutive scores from Runge on a shot in the lane and a steal and fast break by Armstrong for a 24-19 lead with :54 left before the half.

This turned out to be the largest lead for Altamont on the night.

St. Anthony added a free throw by junior Jeff Niebrugge to close the half with the Bulldogs down by four at the break.

Coach Rincker saw his team take a brief lead in the third quarter on the strength of a pair of baskets by junior James Kabbes and a drive by Gardewine for a 27-26 lead with 2:12 left.

But just a few moments later, Altamont's Wolff was fouled by Gardewine while making a 3-point shot from the right wing.

He added the free throw and the four-point swing put Altamont up 30-27.

A bucket by Niebrugge and a free throw Gardewine evened the score.

However an Armstrong score with :04 remaining gave the Indians a two-point lead heading into what turned out to be a train wreck of a final eight minutes.

The Bulldogs weren't stellar from the floor in this night, but they were better than the hosts.

Effingham St. Anthony finished 13-of-38 from the field and just 3-of-16 from the 3-point line.

But they took advantage (mostly) in the foul issues from Altamont as they hit 22-of-32 from the foul line. Despite missing seven of those in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs picked up the road triumph.

St. A also held a 43-35 rebounding edge with 78-rebounds total being a lot for a 32-minute high school basketball game.

Altamont didn't turn the ball over as much as the opposition, committing just seven miscues compared to 13 from the Dawgs.

Both teams have contests remaining if the weather cooperates in this final week of the regular season.

Altamont (19-7, 6-2) has an NTC game at Stewardson-Strasburg scheduled for Friday while St. Anthony is slated to host Casey-Westfield on the same night.

“They (St. Anthony) made some shots and we kind of settled for some jump shots. They were good looks but when they aren't falling you have to get to the basket or get to the (foul) line,” said Coach Niebrugge about the fourth quarter. “We played better against them tonight defensively than we played them at Vandalia in December (a 44-35 loss) but we are still learning how to close games. We are not going to hang our heads about it. We have to move on and get ready for the Stew-Stras Regional.”

The Bulldogs are the number two seed at the Oblong Regional and could face C-W again next week in the regional semifinals.

“When we play that kind of defense, we have to make sure they don't get second chances. We need for them to be one-and-done and we did a great job of that in the second half,' said Coach Rincker. “And then we found a way to get the job done on the offensive end. I'm very proud of my boys' effort tonight.”