“Yes, we shot the ball real well that first half. We got out in transition and knocked down some shots,” Reeder noted. “It was good to see because we have a couple guys that have been struggling.
“But that’s not who we are, and that was our emphasis at halftime,” Reeder added. “We needed to pound the ball inside more. I liked what I saw in the third period. The guys went out and executed really well.”
After making 11-of-15 shots from behind the arc in the first 16 minutes, the Shoes followed the coach’s instruction and began pounding the ball inside. The results speak for themselves.
In the first four minutes, the Shoes took good shot after good shot – all from close to the basket – and quickly turned the game into a rout. They ran off 17 unanswered points to expand their lead to 65-29. Heading into the final quarter, the hosts owned a comfortable 38-point advantage, 78-40.
The mercy rule went into effect during the final eight minutes with a continuously running clock.
The Indians, who dropped to 12-6 on the season, got a game-high 21 points from Taj McKinney and 15 from Justin Durham.
For the game, the Shoes shot 57 percent overall, connecting on 34-of-60 shots. They were 12-for-17 from three-point range, a red hot 70 percent clip. They also made 11-of-15 free throws, owned a 26-15 rebounding edge and only turned the ball over three times, while forcing 17.
T-Town had four players in double figures. James Niebrugge led the way with 19 points, while Brendan Niebrugge scored 18, Siemer had 15 and Max Niebrugge added 14. Both Brendan and Max Niebrugge had four threes in the game, while James Niebrugge pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
“This team just keeps getting better and better,” Reeder said. “I don’t think we’re even close to being as good as we can be. I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface yet. I think this group can be special. We’ve got a lot of great pieces.
“But we have to keep getting better and continue to work hard,” Reeder added. “We can’t be satisfied.”
The Shoes improved to 14-4 on the season. They will return to action Friday at Centralia.