Published on February 17, 2026 2:44 pm
Last Updated on February 17, 2026 2:46 pm
BY KURT BECKER
Heading into local and area boys’ basketball action tonight (Tues., Feb. 17), two teams still have a chance to share in the regular-season championship for the National Trail Conference.
Sitting in the driver’s seat is two-time defending champion St. Anthony, which is 7-0 in league play and hosts a 5-2 Altamont club this evening. The Bulldogs have won 23 consecutive regular-season NTC matches and have not lost a league showdown at The Enlow Center since December 19, 2014, when they fell to Dieterich by a score of 56-43.
Cumberland totes a record of 7-1 in its first year in the conference, with the Pirates scheduled to host St. Anthony on Friday in the regular-season finale for both schools.
Dieterich finished conference play recently at 7-2, while Altamont could finish with the same mark with wins this week over both St. Anthony and Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg. But both Dieterich and Altamont already have been eliminated from a chance at the NTC regular-season title.
A loss by St. Anthony tonight would mean both the Bulldogs and Pirates would clash on Friday with 7-1 league records to decide who wears the crown, while a win by St. Anthony this evening would create a Friday matchup where St. Anthony at 8-0 would face a 7-1 Cumberland squad. In the latter scenario, a St. Anthony triumph on Friday would give the Bulldogs an undisputed title at 9-0, while a Cumberland victory would force a shared title between the two schools.