The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes bid for a semifinal berth in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic fell short Wednesday afternoon.

 A talented and determined Newton Eagles squad twice rallied from 10-point deficits and came back to post a 58-55 victory over the Shoes at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

The Shoes led 16-14 after the first eight minutes and 32-27 at intermission. Even though they threatened to pull away a couple times, the Eagles refused to let that happen. Heading into the final period, the game was knotted at 43-43.

T-Town was up 49-47 late in the contest, but Newton outscored the hosts 11-6 down the stretch to pull out the victory and advance to the semifinal round. The Eagles were scheduled to play Lincoln-Way East at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday).

Both teams shot the ball well. Teutopolis finished at 53 percent, making 20-of-38 attempts, while Newton shot 51 percent, connecting on 19-of-37 shots. The difference was at the free throw line, where the Eagles held a 16-9 advantage.

Newton got 19 points from Parker Wolf and 16 from Evan Schafer. Wolf made a pair of free throws with just seven seconds to play that provided the final margin of victory.

The Shoes had three players in double figures. Max Niebrugge led the way with 18 points, including a three-pointer with 10 seconds to go that got T-Town to within one point. James Niebrugge scored 10 points and Caleb Siemer had another double-double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Shoes, who dipped to 9-3 on the season, were scheduled to play again at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) against St. Anthony.