Final Four Time for St. Anthony

The St. Anthony Bulldogs just after winning the Carbondale Class 1A Super-Sectional championship Tuesday night.

Down 10-0 out of the gate, trailing by 13 at halftime, the St. Anthony Bulldogs mounted a second half comeback to defeat the Woodlawn Cardinals 52-50 to capture the Carbondale 1A Super-Sectional championship Tuesday night. It's on to Final Four action Friday in Peoria.

Tuesday night's game was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

St. Anthony, now 28-5 on the season, will take on Chicago Hope Academy at 11am Friday in Carver Arena at Peoria Civic Center. The contest can be heard n 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. The winner Friday will play for the state championship Saturday, while the Friday loser will play for third place Saturday. The Saturday game will also be covered.

Chicago Hope Academy defeated East Dubuque to win the 1A Super-Sectional at Northern Illinois University, 50-33.

St. Anthony senior Drew Gibson had a huge game, scoring 32 of the Bulldogs' 52 points, including 13 of the 15 points St. Anthony scored in the first half.

The Bulldogs had a terrible time getting a shot to drop throughout the game, trailing 16-8 after one quarter and 28-15 at halftime. Zach Ashby's three at the halftime buzzer for Woodlawn really made things look bleak, but St. Anthony bounced back, holding Woodlawn to just one point in the third quarter to pull within 29-24 heading into the final period.

St. Anthony finally took its first lead of the game with 6:30 left in the contest. It was a see-saw affair from that point. The Bulldogs pushed the lead to six at one point but that was short-lived as Woodlawn clawed its way back to tie the game. St. Anthony rebuilt a five-point lead. Blake Wollerman hit a three at the buzzer but it left Woodlawn two points short and the Bulldogs had the win.

Gibson was magnificent, hitting 9 of 14 shots from the field and 11 of 13 from the line. The Bulldogs needed every point, as the rest of the squad totaled just four baskets on 19 shots. The timeliness of the points by the rest of the squad was a key, though, as Alex Deters scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter, and Cade Walsh and Alex Beesley hit big foul shots in the final stanza. That support was key, since Gibson, who scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter, fouled out with 46 seconds left, well before the final outcome was decided. That also was after Adam Levitt rolled an ankle and was unavailable for the final quarter and a half.

Also coming up big for the Bulldogs was junior Brandon Runge, who has battled injuries the past two seasons but responded Tuesday with six rebounds and two blocked shots that helped turn the tide of the game.

St. Anthony finished 13 of 33 from the field, 39%, including 5 of 13 threes. The Bulldogs made 21 of 28 free throws, grabbed 20 rebounds and turned the ball over just nine times, just once in the fourth quarter.

Woodlawn went 15 of 36 from the field, 42%, including 6 of 19 threes. The Cardinals made 14 of 21 foul shots, turned the ball over 11 times and pulled down 18 rebounds.

Besides Gibson's 32 points, Alex Deters scored 7 points, Adam Levitt 5, Cade Walsh and Jack Nuxoll 3 each and Alex Beesley 2.

Wollerman led Woodlawn with 15 points. Jordan Hoppa scored 12 points and Blake McKay 10 points. Also for Woodlawn: Zach Ashby 9, Trey Isaac 2, and Jackson Bennett and Blake Fewkes one each.

Woodlawn closes its season 18-15. The Cardinals were under .500 until their remarkable postseason run.

St. Anthony has ended ticket sales for Friday's game, but tickets will be available at Peoria Civic Center on Friday morning.

Class 1A Carbondale Super-Sectional

WOODLAWN (50)

Isaac 1-0 -- 2, Wollerman 4-5 -- 15, Bennett 0-1 -- 1, Hoppa 5-2 -- 12, Ashby 2-4 -- 9, McKay 3-1 -- 10, Fewkes 0-1 -- 1. TOTALS 15 FG, 14 FT.

ST. ANTHONY (52)

Walsh 0-3 -- 3, Deters 2-2 -- 7, Levitt 1-3 -- 5, Nuxoll 1-0 -- 3, Beesley 0-2 -- 2, Gibson 9-11 -- 32. TOTALS 13 FG, 21 FT.

Woodlawn             16    12    1    21    --    50

St. Anthony            8       7    9    28    --    52

3-point FG -- Woodlawn 6 (Wollerman 2, Ashby 1, McKay 3), St. Anthony 5 (Deters 1, Nuxoll 1, Gibson 3)