“There was a breakdown in assignments a couple times and we gave up too many easy baskets in that first quarter,” Reeder noted. “Between the first and second quarter, I told the guys their effort wasn’t good enough. To their credit, they responded and really locked in. Our defense really suffocated them.”

Over the following 12 minutes, the Maroons made just 1-of-15 shots and the Shoes took advantage. As a result, Robinson was outscored 30-12 in the middle two periods.

A bucket by Brendan Niebrugge just before the first quarter buzzer sounded gave T-Town a lead it never relinquished and started a 9-0 run. Caleb Siemer opened the second period with a three-point play, followed by baskets from Joey and James Niebrugge to expand the lead to 22-13.

A pair of free throws by Owen Schmidt and a bucket by Nate Wernz – the only four points Robinson scored in the period – cut it 22-17, but James Niebrugge and Siemer hit jumpers to close out the first half. That not only gave the Shoes a 26-17 advantage at intermission, it started another scoring surge that carried over into the third period.

James Niebrugge, Caleb Bloemer and Brendan Niebrugge hit shots inside the arc and Garrett Gaddis added one from behind the arc to account for the first nine points of the second half and cap the 13-0 scoring spree over a five-minute stretch and expanded the Shoes lead to 35-17.

By the end of the third quarter, the hosts had a 20-point cushion, 45-25, and were never threatened the rest of the way. The Shoes led by as many as 23 points in the fourth period before settling for the 19-point win.

Brendan and James Niebrugge both netted 19 points to lead the T-Town scoring attack, and Siemer added 11. The Shoes shot 40 percent overall, connecting on 20-of-50 attempts. They were 4-for-19 from long range and 7-for-10 at the foul line.

THS improved to 25-7 on the season.

“The expectations are always high in Teutopolis,” Reeder said. “Then we get a home regional, which just adds more pressure. But these kids have been super. They proved that the moment was not too big for them. I’m so proud of our group.”

The Shoes will now advance to the Newton Sectional. They will face Alton Marquette at 7 p.m. Wednesday night. The Explorers, who are 21-12, defeated Pana, 43-32, to win the Litchfield Regional.

The other two teams that advanced were Greenville (23-11) and Lawrenceville (24-8). Those teams will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Greenville defeated Roxanna 46-26 to win the Wood River Regional and Lawrenceville topped Mt. Carmel 51-32 in the finals of the Lawrenceville Regional.

“We’re excited about playing in the sectional,” Reeder said. “You can’t think about what might happen or who you might play. You just take it one step at a time.”