Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It was supposed to be a runaway – maybe not even competitive.

This was a team that struggled with offensive consistency and turnovers for almost the entire season.

It was a team forced to play without one of its best players due to injury.

And it was the same team that benefited from missed free throws and a botched dunk to narrowly escape not once, but twice, in the sectional.

But with 4:49 left in Monday night’s game, the team given virtually no chance of winning was within a single point.

“Our kids believed that they belonged here and that they could beat this team,” Teutopolis coach Chet Reeder said. “I couldn’t be prouder of a group of kids.”

Unfortunately, the postseason magic came to an end in those final minutes.

The Belleville Althoff Crusaders went on a game-deciding 13-0 run down the stretch to post a 48-37 victory over the Wooden Shoes and capture the Carbondale Super Sectional.

Althoff, now 31-5 and winners of 17 of its last 18 games, will advance to the Class 2A State Tournament in Champaign. The Crusaders will face Chicago (Christ the King) on Thursday afternoon at the State Farm Center.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

God certainly has more important things to do than worry about the outcome of a basketball game.

But based on the two sectional wins these past four days, the Good Lord just might have spent a little time in Tolono this week.

And he just might have been wearing blue & gold.

Today, eight teams remain in the Class 2A field.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes are one of those, thanks to another improbable overtime victory, this time a 37-35 decision over Warrensburg-Latham in the championship game of the Tolono (Unity) Sectional.

For the second straight game, people filed out of the Rocket Center, scratching their head and wondering, “How did they do that?”

Tuesday night, it was a rash of missed free throws that led to the OT win over Monticello.

Friday night, it was a potential game-deciding layup that turned into a botched dunk attempt that resulted in basket interference.

Good fortune? Maybe.

Down right luck? Probably.

Divine intervention? Absolutely.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Four years ago, the Teutopolis eighth grade basketball team was prevented from making a postseason trip to Tolono Unity because of COVID.

Those players are now seniors and guess where they’re headed Tuesday night?

“God has a funny way of paying guys back in a rewarding way,” Teutopolis High School coach Chet Reeder said. “COVID cancelled their chance as eighth graders. But now as seniors, they get to make that trip to Tolono Unity.”

That “trip” became reality Friday night when the Wooden Shoes held on for a 50-49 victory over Fairfield in the championship game of the Class 2A Fairfield Regional.

“I’m so proud of this group,” Reeder emphasized. “We’re blessed to have the opportunity to play another game.”

That wasn’t secured, however, until the very last second.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Is there anything more exhilarating – or devastating – than postseason basketball?

In Illinois, the postseason is in its stretch run.

And colleges have either just started or will soon embark on this exciting, frustrating, nerve-wracking, maddening and unpredictable time of year.

Survive and advance is the frequently-used phrase for the postseason and it serves as an accurate three-word description.

A perfect example of that was Tuesday night’s sectional semifinal at Tolono Unity High School.

Yes, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes survived, coming away with a 53-46 overtime victory over Monticello.

And, yes, they will now advance to the sectional championship.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

For the third straight game, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes fell behind quickly.

But unlike the last two, they were unable to come back.

Their shooting simply wouldn’t allow it.

The Lady Shoes were an icy 26 percent overall – including 2-for-21 from three-point range – and as a result, never led in the game and, in fact, were never closer than four points.

Their quest for another sectional title came to an end Thursday night, as the Mt. Carmel Lady Aces posted a wire-to-wire 42-32 victory to claim the Class 2A Paris Sectional championship – the first in school history.

“This time, our slow start came back to bite us,” said THS coach Laurie Thompson. “If we shoot like we normally do, we would have been fine. Unfortunately, against good teams, you can’t expect to start like that and catch up every time.”

Just like the past two games – Newton in the regional final; and Paris in the sectional semifinals – the Lady Shoes got off to a horrible start. They missed their first nine shots and found themselves trailing 8-0 until Chloe Probst converted a Mt. Carmal turnover into a basket at the 1:26 mark of the opening period.

Chloe Probst also knocked down an off-balance three-pointer just ahead of the buzzer to get T-Town within 11-7 after the first eight minutes.