North Clay ends 37-game conference winning streak for St. Anthony with 53-49 win
Dec. 1—Thirty-seven.
That number marks the number of games in a row that the St. Anthony boys' basketball team won within National Trail Conference play, a streak that ended on Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs (2-3, 0-1 National Trail Conference) fell to North Clay at North Clay High School, 53-49, in the first game of the conference season for both teams.
It wasn't until the second half, though, when the Cardinals (3-1, 1-0 National Trail Conference) pulled ahead.
Both teams tied, 12-12, at the end of the first quarter before St. Anthony pushed ahead by one point, 22-21, at halftime.
The Bulldogs started the game by scoring the first four points after a pair of jumpers.
North Clay then responded with a 3-pointer from Cody Zimdars and a layup from Logan Fleener that gave the hosts a 5-4 advantage with 5:09 left in the opening period.
The Cardinals' lead wouldn't last long, though.
With 4:23 left in the period, Michael Martelli knocked down a 3-pointer after a steal from Ryan Schmidt to make it 7-5 before Jonathan Willenborg converted a layup with 3:15 to go that made it 9-5.
North Clay then answered right back with another Zimdars 3-pointer to make it 9-8 before Ethan Kuenstler converted a layup after rebounding a missed Fleeener jumper to give the Cardinals the lead right back, 10-9.
Both teams then traded baskets to end the period, as Fearday converted a layup after rebounding his own missed shot, and Fleener stole a Schmidt pass and converted a layup himself to tie the game.
Schmidt made up for that turnover, though.
Starting the second quarter, Schmidt rebounded his own missed shot and converted a layup to give St. Anthony a 14-12 lead.
Then, after North Clay clawed back to within one of the lead later in the period, Fearday would produce a three-point play that pushed the Bulldogs' lead to four points, 19-15.
Fearday then added another layup with 2:29 to go before halftime to make it 21-17 before Kunestler rebounded a missed Alex Boose 3-pointer and converted a layup while drawing a foul to head to the line for a three-point play opportunity.
Kuenstler finished the game with seven points.
Fearday finished with eight points in the second quarter and 13 in the first half.
Overall, he had 24 for the game and added 12 rebounds.
Fearday was the lone St. Anthony player in double-figures, too.
Willenborg neared double-digits with nine points. Schmidt had seven, and Collin Westendorf, Sehy, and Martelli had three.
As for the Cardinals, Zimdars led the team with 14 points. Levi Smith had 13. Boose had six, and Carder Walden had two.
Fleener — the reigning National Trail Conference Most Valuable Player — added 11, highlighted by a crowd-pleasing dunk with under one minute to go in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory.
Box Score
St. Anthony: 12 10 15 12 — 49
— Westendorf 3, Willenborg 9, Fearday 24, Sehy 3, Schmidt 7, Martelli 3. FG 18. FT 8-10. F 19. (3-pointers: Westendorf 1, Willenborg 1, Sehy 1, Schmidt 1, Martelli 1. Fouled out: Sehy)
North Clay: 12 9 15 17 — 53
— Zimdars 14, Kuenstler 7, Smith 13, Fleener 11, Boose 6, Walden 2. FG 19. FT 9-16, F 13. (3-pointers: Zimdars 3, Kuenstler 1, Smith 1, Fleener 1)
Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
