In front of a jam packed gymnasium on Tuesday night the Altamont Indians defeated St. Anthony on Senior Night. It was also for the second time this season, both in convincing fashion, both clinching championships. A couple of weeks ago it was to clinch back to back NTC Tournament Championships. On Tuesday the Indians clinched something that hasn’t been done in four decades. Altamont has shared NTC regular season championships during that time but hadn’t won it outright…
UNTIL NOW!
The game started out completely different then the NTC tournament championship. As it was St. Anthony who came out of the gates with the 8-2 lead. Brock Fearday got it going with five early points. Altamont would go on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game after that though. The run got started with a three from Logan Cornett. Avery Jahraus made two of three foul shots and Eric Kollmann would have a put back to give the Indians the 9-8 lead. The teams would trade the lead from there on out. It was Altamont who had the 13-11 lead after one thanks to a Jahraus jumper at the buzzer.
In the second quarter Altamont would put the clamps on defensively, not allowing the Bulldogs to take advantage of being in the early one and one bonus free throw situation. Altamont would outscore St. A 13-5 in the quarter to take a 26-16 lead into the break.
The Indians would come out with authority in the second half as Jahraus, who did not make a three in the first came out on fire from beyond the arc. As Avery was three for three to start the half including a four point play, as he was fouled in the act of making one from distance . Mason Robinson would also takeover the game pouring in eight in the quarter. Dillan Elam would convert a layup from a nice outlet pass that would give the Indians their biggest lead of the night to that point 37-21. Coach Rinker called the timeout to stop the bleeding. Altamont offensively would drop 26 points in the quarter, to give Altamont the lead 52-35 heading into the final quarter.
The second half was slowed down by all the fouls and many, many trips to the free throw line. St. A tried to claw away at the defect, taking advantage of some turnovers on in bounds passes. Collin Westendorf for the Bulldogs would have a great second half with 15 of his 16 points coming in the third and fourth quarters. The lead would be cut down to ten points at one point in the second half. But Robinson would have a ten point quarter of his own. Elam would be 4-4 from the line to help Altamont secure the 71-55 win over St. Anthony. The win also comes on senior night for the seven senior basketball players: Jared Hammer, Wyatt Phillips, Avery Jahraus, Mason Robinson, Logan Cornett, Kienon Eirhart and Eric Kollmann. Altamont fans hope this isn’t the last time they see these seniors on their home floor. Altamont is hosting the sectional but lots of work to be done before that can happen.
Altamont improves to 24-4 overall and 7-0 in the NTC with one game to go. With the win and no matter what happens on Thursday at Windsor / Stew – Stras, Altamont would clinch their first outright NTC regular season championship in 43 years. All the other teams would have at least two conference losses.
St. Anthony falls to 18-12 overall and finishes 6-2 in the NTC. Bulldogs wrap up regular season play on Friday vs Casey.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| St. Anthony | 11 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 55 |
| Altamont | 13 | 13 | 26 | 19 | 71 |
Altamont Points
Robinson 18, Jahraus 17, Kollmann 10, Cornett 9, Elam 8, Eli Miller 3, Hammer 2, Phillips 2.
St. Anthony Points
Westendorf 16, Schmidt 13, Brock Fearday 9, Sehy 7, Martelli 3, Willenborg 2, Link 2, Koenig 1.
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