The hosts were not as sharp in the third quarter, especially on the defensive end. Lutheran North scored 17 points – nearly half its total – in those eight minutes alone.

“To their credit, they did some things that hurt us,” Reeder noted. “They were relentless getting to the paint and went to the boards hard.

“I wasn’t too pleased with our defense in that third quarter,” the THS coach added. “We let our guard down a little. We’re still trying to figure out how to bury a team. I guess it’s good to have things to fix and still win by 20.”

Brendan Niebrugge ended with four three-pointers and a game-high 19 points. Siemer turned in a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The Shoes shot 54 percent overall, making 25-of-46 attempts. They were 6-for-16 from behind the arc and 6-for-12 at the foul line. They turned the ball over 11 times and held a 32-14 rebounding edge.

“This was a good way to open the tournament,” Reeder said. “You always want to advance on the winning side. This is a challenging tournament. No matter who you face, you better come ready to play.”

The Shoes, who improved to 9-2 on the season, will be back in action today (Wednesday) at 1:30 p.m. against Newton. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Lincoln-Way East-St. Anthony game at 7:30 p.m. The loser will play at 6 p.m. Those games will be at Teutopolis High School.

“Troy (Bierman) does a nice job at Newton and has a great group of kids to work with,” Reeder said. “We will get their next level effort. We’ll need to execute to be successful. It should be a fun game and a fun atmosphere.”