Achieving that goal was very much in doubt after the first two quarters. They Shoes led 11-8 after the opening eight minutes and were still on top, 22-18, at intermission, thanks to their three-point shooting. They had eight baskets at halftime and six of them were from long range.
Their defense was outstanding, but they had turned the ball over eight times, were only 2-for-10 from two-point range and one of their leading scorers, 6’5” junior Caleb Siemer, had played limited minutes due to early foul trouble. Siemer had just two points and those came after grabbing a rebound and scoring with just one second left in the second period.
“That was kind of tough getting those two quick fouls,” Siemer admitted. “I was mad at myself, especially for that second one. It was a dumb foul. But coach kept talking to me and encouraging me and I kept cheering for my teammates.”
“That first half was the perfect definition of us all year long,” Reeder noted. “It was ugly on offense with almost no flow whatsoever. But we kept guarding.
“There was too much one-on-one and too much isolation,” the THS coach added. “The ball wasn’t moving, meaning all of our shots were being contested. Thankfully, we only gave up 18 points.”
That offense did an about-face in the second half. And it started immediately when Jimmer Niebrugge stole the inbounds pass and converted that into a layup just four seconds into the third period. He then scored again about a minute later to give T-Town an eight-point lead, 26-18.
Mt. Carmel’s standout sophomore, Blayne Sisson, hit a jumper to get the Golden Aces back to within six, but it never got any closer. Brendan Niebrugge followed with a three-pointer that ignited a 15-10 run that put the Shoes in control.
James Niebrugge hit his third shot of the quarter and Siemer scored after grabbing another offensive rebound, and the Shoes owned their first double-digit lead, 33-22, at the 4:01 mark. A three by Dylan Pruemer later in the quarter expanded the lead to 17 points before Mt. Carmel closed out the period on a 6-0 run to get within 41-30 heading into the final eight minutes.
“I sensed we were taking control, but I coached too much at the end of that third quarter,” Reeder admitted. “I should have just let them keep playing. Because of that, we lost some of our aggression and got too passive. But Max’s two threes shut them down from there.”
His fourth and fifth three-pointers of the game increased the T-Town lead back to 17 points and was the spark to a 15-0 run to open the final period. Pruemer then drilled a three and added a driving layup. Brendan Niebrugge followed with a pair of free throws and Mitch Althoff stole the ball and converted it into a layup to give the Shoes a commanding 26-point advantage, 56-30, with just 2:29 left.
“I told the kids at halftime they had to trust,” Reeder noted. “If they did that, the ball would find the right guy at the right time. On several possessions, they made the extra pass to a wide open shooter. Then they stepped up and knocked those shots down.
“This was a special night for us,” Reeder added. “And one of the keys to that second half run was how they trusted each other.”
The Shoes had 21 total baskets in the game and 12 of those came from behind the arc. They were 12-for-17 from long range, with Max Niebrugge knocking down five, Brendan Niebrugge four, Pruemer two and Joey Ruholl got in the act with a three in the second period.
“When Max made his first one, it was a confidence booster for the whole team,” Brendan Niebrugge said. “Our defense is going to be there every night. But we also got into the flow of our offense and things took off.”
“I felt confident tonight,” Max added. “Before the game, coach told me if I had open looks to knock them down.”
In addition to leading the team in scoring, Max Niebrugge also had the assignment of guarding Mt. Carmel’s leading scorer, Gage Kennerd. He limited Kennerd to just 10 points and two of those came in the final seconds when T-Town had cleared the bench.
“Max made him work for everything. He challenged every shot,” Reeder said. “Max does everything we ask of him. I hope the younger guys are paying attention. I know Max is not at the top of anybody’s scouting report, but he should be.”
The Shoes shot 57 percent overall, making 21-of-37 attempts. They were 12-for-17 from behind the arc – including 6-of-7 in the second half, and 2-for-4 from the foul line. Another key to the game was rebounding and T-Town held a commanding 24-13 advantage with Siemer pulling down 10. Teutopolis also had 14 turnovers, compared to 12 for Mt. Carmel.
Virtually every high school basketball player in this state dreams of playing on the court at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Wooden Shoes are now one victory away from seeing that dream become reality.
But they will face a tough challenge Monday night in Carbondale. Nashville defeated Breese Central 47-45 in overtime to claim the Carterville Sectional.
There will be two games in Carbondale. The Class 1A Super Sectional will feature Macon Meridian against Steeleville at 6 p.m. The T-Town-Nashville contest will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be exciting going to Carbondale,” Brendan Niebrugge admitted. “We get better and build off every win. We just need to keep building.”
