In the opening half, THS was sizzling at both ends of the floor. Brendan Niebrugge knocked down four three-pointers and James Niebrugge added two more from long range. Plus, the Shoes dominated the boards and forced Mattoon into 11 turnovers.

At intermission, it appeared as if T-Town was on its way to a rout, leading 40-17.

But the second half was a different story. The Shoes made just one more three-pointer, struggled mightily at the free throw line and gave up 38 points.

“It was certainly a tale of two halves,” THS coach Chet Reeder admitted. “Give Mattoon credit. They showed a lot of fight.

“But we just dropped our intensity level, plus we missed a ton of free throws,” Reeder added. “We have to figure out what’s causing this drop we have in the second half. I know we still have some kids that are learning at the varsity level, but I have to do a better job of helping them through this.”

The Shoes have looked virtually unbeatable in the first half of their games in the tournament. And Friday afternoon was no different.

It took Mattoon four minutes to get its first point. By that time, T-Town had 14. James Niebrugge already had four baskets, including a three, and Caleb Bloemer had also connected from long range.

By the end of the first eight minutes, it was a 24-7 spread.

The Green Wave got a three-point play from Taeriek Grace and a three-pointer from Andrew Wetzel to trim the margin to 27-13, but the Shoes responded with a 13-4 run to close out the first half. Brendan Niebrugge knocked down a pair of threes, James Nieburgge added another and Caleb Siemer scored on back-to-back possessions to send THS to the locker room with that 23-point bulge.

But when the second half began, it was clear another lull had set in. The Shoes struggled, turning the ball over seven times, missed some easy shots and converted just 2-of-10 from the free throw line in the final two quarters. Mattoon continued to chip away at the lead and then outscored T-Town 22-13 in the final eight minutes to get within single digits.

The Shoes had three players in double figures. James Niebrugge led the way. He was 8-for-11 from the field and finished with a game-high 19 points. Brendan Niebrugge scored 14 and Siemer added a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

“James is our x-factor,” Reeder said. “If we get him to the rim and knocking down open shots, he takes us to a whole new level. When he’s good, our team is really tough to beat.”

The Shoes shot 45 percent overall, making 25-of-56 attempts. They were 8-for-20 from behind the arc and only 5-for-18 from the foul line. They owned a 36-24 rebounding advantage and finished with 13 turnovers.

They will now face a Breese Central team that has defeated Effingham, Robinson and St. Anthony to also reach the championship game.

“We’re all about taking things one game at a time,” Reeder noted. “We’re excited about where we’re at and having the opportunity to play a tough team like Breese Central. It gives the kids a chance to play in that championship atmosphere early in the year. It should be a great atmosphere.”