Published on February 2, 2026 1:04 pm
Last Updated on February 2, 2026 1:07 pm
BY MILLIE LANGE
Effingham St. Anthony and Teutopolis both advanced to the championship game in their respective junior high boys basketball State Tournaments Saturday.
St. Anthony tallied a 46-31 victory over Decatur Robertson in the Class 7-2A State Tournament at Macon Meridian High School. The game was the opener for the Bullpups.
Robertson edged out to an 8-7 opening quarter lead and led 21-13 at halftime.
The Bullpups then rallied with a 17-3 third period to move ahead and continued on with a 16-7 final period for the victory.
Ryan Wohltman led in scoring for the Bullpups with 15 points on four field goals and seven of 11 at the line. James Dust chipped in with 13 on six field goals and one of one at the line.
Other first round games were Dwight 33, Peoria St. Philomena 29, Winchester 53, Stronghurst West Central 37 and Normal Epiphany 37, McNabb Putnam County 37-28.
The second game of the day went to the Bullpups 46-31 over Normal Epiphany.
Normal Epiphany moved ahead 11-4 in the opening quarter but St. Anthony rallied once again with a 13-8 second period to trail only 19-17 at halftime. St. Anthony continued on with an 18-6 third quarter and never looked back.
James Gilmore led St. Anthony with 20 points on seven field goals, two from three-point range, and four of four free throws. Also in double figures was Nash Hoene with 10 points on four field goals and two of four at the line. Wohltman finished with nine.
That moves the Bullpups into a 7:30 p.m. contest Thursday for the State championship against Winchester.
Winchester defeated Dwight 51-38 in the game ahead of St. Anthony’s Saturday.
St. Anthony enters the title contest with a 24-1 record while Winchester is unbeaten at 26-0.
Class 7-2A
State Tournament
Game One
Decatur Robertson 8 13 3 7 — 31
St. Anthony 7 6 17 16 — 46
Decatur Robertson — Jackson 19, Taylor 5, James 3, Nelson 4
St. Anthony — Gilmore 8, Dust 13, Hoene 7, Wohltman 15, Niebrugge 3
Game Two
St. Anthony 4 13 18 11 — 46
Normal Epiphany 11 8 6 6 — 31
St. Anthony — Gilmore 20, Dust 1, Hoene 10, Ludwig 2, Wohltman 9, Hamilton 2, Niebrugge 2
Normal Epiphany — Cruz-Bucio 7, Krolewsi 5, Wey 3, Holmcomb 16, Slaughter 0
At Robinson
Teutopolis handed Robinson Nuttall a 38-31 loss in the Class 8-3A Robinson Nuttall Sectional Friday.
The Wooden Shoes broke a 6-6 opening quarter tie with a 9-8 second period then had a 23-17 second half.
Mason Giles led the way with nine points while Connor Althoff and Louie Niebrugge added eight each.
That put Teutopolis into the Class 7-3A State Tournament at El Paso-Gridley High School Saturday.
T-town opened with a 52-36 victory over Calumet City Wentworth. The Shoes trailed 8-7 after the opening quarter but had a 17-11 second period and went on for the victory.
Bryson Meyer led the Shoes with 20 points while Dylan Deters added 12. Meyer hit two field goals and was a whopping 16 of 20 from the free throw line.
In other first round games, Clinton won over Bradley Central 40-37, Lisle downed Vandalia 49-37 and LaSalle Lincoln beat Metamora 44-37.
T-town then faced Clinton and was a 55-27 winner. The Shoes ran out to a 27-17 halftime lead then had an 18-7 third quarter surge.
Meyer led the way with 15 points on five field goals and five of five at the line. Also in double figures were Charlie Koester and Deters with 11 each.
In the second round, Lisle edged LaSalle Lincoln 50-48.
T-town (26-3) will now meet Lisle (15-5) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday for the championship. Clinton takes on LaSalle Lincoln for third place at 6 p.m.
Class 7-3A State Tournament
Game One
Teutopolis 7 17 8 20 — 52
Calumet City Wentworth 8 11 6 11 — 36
Teutopolis — Weidner 0, Koester 5, Kocher 9, Meyer 20, Imburgia 4, Deters 12, Kinkelaar 2
Calumet City Wentworth — Mitchell 4, Edwards 8, Smith 2, Roa 2, Wright 1, Bell 13, Walls 6
Game Two
Clinton 11 6 7 3 — 27
Teutopolis 17 10 18 10 — 55
Clinton — Dubois 5, Snow 5, Dalton 3, Nichols 7, Allen 2, Ferguson 5
Teutopolis — Weidner 2, Koester 11, Kocher 5, Meyer 15, Kremer 3, Deters 11, Mette 6, Kreke 2, Kinkelaar 0