Best Performance of Season for Bulldogs? Maybe So; Wooden Shoes Down Alton; Other Scores from Teutopolis Shootout

The St. Anthony Bulldogs are playing much better basketball in the second half of the season and Saturday afternoon's performance at the Teutopolis Shootout might have been their best performance of the year.

The Bulldogs spotted Central A&M a 7-0 lead before outscoring the Raiders 13-2 for the rest of the quarter on their way to a 78-66 victory at J.H. Griffin Gym.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes won the final game of the day in the Shootout, downing the Alton Redbirds 70-60.  Both the St. Anthony and Teutopolis games were heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

ST. ANTHONY 78, CENTRAL A&M 66

St. Anthony shot 63% from the field and 80% from the line in posting their second victory in less than 24 hours after winning against Brownstown Friday night.  Toss out a 3-for-12 effort from the field in the first quarter, and St. Anthony went 29 of 39 in the final three quarters.  That's 74%!

Time and again, St. Anthony was successful in beating the Raiders press down the floor for layups and then cashed in at the line when fouled.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over 16 times and grabbed 24 rebounds while making two of four three-point tries.

Central A&M shot 47% from the field, making 21 of 44 shots.  They struggled at the line, hitting 14 of 24, committed 16 turnovers and pulled down 21 rebounds while making 10 of 25 three-point shots to stay within striking distance.

Jacob Schuette followed up on a 33-point performance against Brownstown with a 36-point effort against Central A&M, hitting 15 of 25 shots and making all six of his foul shots while also grabbing seven rebounds.  St. Anthony sophomore Andrew Gardewine had his first varsity double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  Charlie Schultz scored 14 points and also was credited with 14 assists.  Also for the Bulldogs: Alex Hoelscher six points, Neil Williams with two and Derek Rios and Jason Vogel with one point each.

Reece Ade led Central A&M with 21 points, on seven three-point baskets.

St. Anthony is now 11-16 on the season, while Central A&M drops to 17-7.

TEUTOPOLIS 70, ALTON 60

The Wooden Shoes prevailed in a rugged game against the Redbirds.  The game featured five offensive fouls and an intentional foul, but a lot of quality basketball along the way.

The Wooden Shoes took a 17-12 lead after one quarter and then outpointed Alton 19-15 in the second quarter to lead 36-27 at halftime.  A 13-13 third quarter standoff when things started to get a little chippy on the floor left T-Town in front 49-40 heading for the fourth quarter. 

At one point, Teutopolis pushed the lead to 16 points before Alton started a comeback, creeping to within five points before the Wooden Shoes started pouring in foul shots and posted the 10-point win, outscoring Alton 21-20 in the final period.

Teutopolis shot 63% from the field, making 22 of 35 shots.  They made 20 of 28 foul shots for 71%, including 17 of 22 in the fourth quarter.  The Shoes turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 20 times and grabbed 15 rebounds while making six of 14 three-point shots.

Alton made 53% of its shots, hitting on 25 of 47 including four of 10 three-pointers.  Alton hit just six of 12 free throws, turned the ball over 20 times and grabbed 20 rebounds.

Derek Smith led Teutopolis with 24 points and made 11 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.  Kyle Pruemer scored 16 points on seven of 10 shooting.  Also for Teutopolis: Jared Waldhoff and Cody Will eight apiece, Devin Falbe six points, Rourke Schultz four, and Brett Mette and Reed Hardiek two points each.

A'basa Brown scored 17 points and Carlos Anderson scored 15 points with eight rebounds before fouling out to pace Alton, now 12-14 on the season.

Teutopolis improved to 23-3 on the campaign, headed into the final week of the regular season.

Also Saturday at the Teutopolis Shootout:

Robinson 58, Mascoutah 50

Madison 61, Paris 48

Mattoon 66, Antioch 40