Kayden Althoff made a pair of free throws and then hit a short jumper to get THS within 30-25 just 90 seconds into the fourth quarter. About 30 seconds later, Caleb Siemer knocked down another shot to close the gap to just three points.

It took another 3½ minutes before Althoff scored again to make it a one-point game, 30-29.

“We weren’t very good offensively the entire game,” Reeder noted. “We didn’t execute as well as we could have. But the kids kept working and kept getting stops in that fourth quarter. Then Kayden went on a bit of a run for us. We were down nine, but we weren’t down on ourselves. That’s what these guys are all about.”

The Cougars scored the final points of the game when Brady Moore hit a shot with 1:42 to play. The Shoes had additional scoring chances down the stretch, but just couldn’t connect. Moore was fouled with 37 seconds left, but missed the front end of a bonus, giving T-Town one final opportunity.

Breese Central’s defense once again made it very difficult. The Shoes got off a hurried three in the final seconds, but it was off-target, clinching the win for the Cougars. It was the sixth time they have won the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament, but the first since 2015.

“They do a great job protecting the paint, which is the key to our offense,” Reeder explained. “We didn’t get many clean looks. They were incredibly active, just like we are. Their ball pressure is great.”

 The game was close throughout. It was tied three times and the lead changed hands nine times in the first 16 minutes. The Cougars held a slim 19-17 lead at intermission.

Ten first-half turnovers hurt Teutopolis, but it was the third quarter that made the different.

James Niebrugge turned a Breese Central turnover into a bucket to tie the game just 33 seconds into the second half. The only other points the Shoes scored in that quarter were single free throws by Max Niebrugge and Brendan Niebrugge.

Moore scored seven points, including a long, three-pointer at the buzzer, to help the Cougars build a 30-21 lead.

“They really took us out of our offense in that third period,” Reeder said. “They did a good job pressuring us. They took away our spacing and the passing lanes. Plus, we missed some shots in the paint that we need to finish.”

Moore was the only player to reach double figures, finishing with 13 points. He, along with teammate Luke Stubhart, were named to the all-tournament team.

The Shoes got nine points from Brendan Niebrugge and eight from Kayden Althoff. T-Town made just 38 percent of its shots, going 11-for-29 from the floor. They were 2-for-6 from behind the arc and 5-of-10 from the foul line. The Shoes finished with 13 turnovers.

Brendan Niebrugge and Siemer were also named to the all-tournament team. Niebrugge was selected as the tourney’s Most Valuable Player.

“He’s well-deserving of that,” Reeder said. “His progression as a player was on display this week. He’s put in a ton of time and hard work. He deserves a lot of credit for that.

“Caleb’s work ethic was also seen this week,” the THS coach added. “He got himself into great shape for this season. He’s the anchor for our defense and I think he’s just going to get better and better as the season goes on.”

The Shoes ended 3-1 for the week.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Reeder said. “We took a tremendous step forward this week. We like challenging ourselves in tournaments like this. We love coming here.

“We’re still a little inexperienced when it comes to varsity basketball, but we’ve made good strides,” he continued. “This was a tremendous week for us. This is a tremendous tournament. It showed us what we need to work on. We need help scoring from everybody and we need to take better care of the basketball.

“We’re looking forward to this season. We’ve got great kids and I love coaching them.”

The Shoes will return to action Saturday. It will be their home opener game against Tolono Unity.