Caleb Bloemer hit a short jumper to start an 8-0 run. Three consecutive trips resulted in turnovers by Rantoul and Bloemer, Caleb Siemer and Brendan Niebrugge turned those into points to put T-Town on top, 10-3.
Siemer then scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, Brendan Niebrugge drilled a three and Joey Niebrugge capped a 7-0 burst with a basket after yet another Eagles turnover, increasing the THS lead to 17-5.
By the end of the first eight minutes, it was still a double-digit advantage, 23-12.
“Caleb (Bloemer) and Logan (Roepke) did what they’re supposed to do,” Reeder noted. “They harassed their ballhandlers. Those two are our table setters on defense and they did a great job.”
Tyler Pruemer made a pair of foul shots and Brendan Niebrugge knocked down another three to open the second period and stretch the lead to 28-12.
Later in the quarter, Mitch Koester made a short jumper, Siemer added a bucket following Rantoul’s 14th turnover of the first half and Koester made a three to make it a 22-point bulge, 28-16, at the 2:14 mark.
From that point on, however, the Shoes weren’t as sharp. They owned a 40-21 lead at intermission and the lead fluctuated between 17 and 24 points the entire second half.
Teutopolis continued to shoot the ball well in the final two quarters, but 10 turnovers eliminated several possessions. And the Shoes fouled a lot in the final 16 minutes. Rantoul shot 20 free throws in the fourth quarter alone.
“The second half was not up to our standards,” Reeder admitted. “In the locker room after the game, even the kids knew we didn’t play well. It’s on us to learn to play all four quarters up to our standards.”
Siemer led the T-Town scoring attack with 17 points and Brendan Niebrugge added 15. The Shoes shot 56 percent overall, connecting on 29-of-52 attempts. They were 4-for-10 from long range and 6-for-9 from the foul stripe. They turned the ball over 16 times, but held a 27-16 rebounding advantage.
“I saw some good things tonight,” Reeder noted. “Tyler Pruemer gave us some great minutes off the bench. He’s trying to figure out exactly what his role will be this year. Caleb (Siemer) looked really good. You could see how he’s expanded his game. Brendan attacked the basket more and James (Niebrugge) was good on the glass.
“It was what we needed,” Reeder added. “Overall, this was a good first game for us.”
The Shoes will be back in action tonight (Tuesday), taking on Highland at 8 p.m.
