The Griffins got a three-point play by Kyle Olagbegi to start the game and scored the first seven points. It was 12-4 after Tylon Toliver connected on a three-pointer. But Brendan Niebrugge knocked down a three of his own and James Niebrugge hit a short jumper to get the Shoes within 14-9 after the first eight minutes.

A three-point play by Joey Niebrugge to start the second quarter trimmed the margin to two points, but a three-pointer by Toliver and two by Kaiden Ross helped LWE take its first double-digit lead at 29-19.

Garrett Gaddis came off the bench to connect from long range and a pair of free throws by Brendan Niebrugge made it a five-point contest, 29-24, at intermission.

“We hung right with them in that first half,” Reeder said. “We were forcing them to take the shots we wanted them to take and we were playing aggressively on the offensive end. We just couldn’t make a shot or a free throw.

“I was very encouraged at halftime,” Reeder added. “The boys did a heckuva job and were only down five. And we shot horribly. Unfortunately, we came out in the third quarter and shot worse.”

After a basket by James Niebrugge at the 5:28 mark, it was still just a five-point deficit, 32-27. But that’s the only shot T-Town made in the third quarter. Toliver and Ross both connected from behind the arc and helped the Griffins rattle off the final 12 points. They outscored T-Town 15-3 in the quarter and took a 44-27 advantage into the final period.

“When you don’t make shots and give a team like that so many chances, it’s going to snowball on you,” Reeder noted. “That’s exactly what happened to us.”

A pair of free throws by Joey Niebrugge got the margin down to 12 points, but the Shoes were unable to get any closer. The lead fluctuated between 15 and 21 points for most of the quarter.

“I’m incredibly pleased with our team,” Reeder said. “We challenged those guys for a half. If we had made our free throws, we might have been winning the game at halftime. The kids played so darn hard. I’m very proud of them.”

The Griffins had four players in double figures. Toliver led the way with 23 points, while Ross scored 12 and both Olagbegi and George Bellevue added 10. Toliver, Olagbegi and Bellevue were each named to the all-tournament team.

James Niebrugge was the only T-Town player to crack double figures, finishing with 12. The Shoes shot just 35 percent overall, connecting on 13-of-37 attempts. They were 2-for-11 from long range and 10-for-17 at the line.

James Niebrugge and Caleb Siemer were also named to the all-tournament team.

The Shoes finished 3-1 in tournament play.

“This tournament will prepare us for games down the road,” Reeder noted. “All four of our games the last three days were against different styles of basketball. This will help us tremendously in the long run. Nothing should surprise us now.

“This should catapult us into the second half of our schedule,” Reeder added. “We should have all the confidence in the world. I’m very pleased with what we’ve done so far this season.”

THS is now 12-2 overall. The Shoes will return to action Tuesday night at Monticello.