“After that hot start, I thought we lacked intensity the rest of the game,” the THS coach said. “Our focus defensively wasn’t good. We didn’t do the things we practiced this week. We gave up too many easy baskets.

“And I wasn’t pleased with our turnovers either,” Reeder added. “We were sloppy and didn’t secure the basketball. We weren’t crisp at all.”

Marshall got within 12 points at one time, 24-12, but no closer the rest of the way. It was a 16-point spread at halftime, 33-17.

The second half started off strong for the Shoes. Koester hit another three and Joey Niebrugge scored four points and it was 40-17. It was a 21-point advantage, 48-27, heading into the fourth period.

Teutopolis had two players in double figures. Koester, normally a pass-first type of guard, went 5-for-7 from three-point range and finished with 15 points. Gaddis had three baskets from behind the arc and scored 11.

“Mitch is a very good distributor,” Reeder said. “He is deceptively quick and has the ability to get into spots you wouldn’t think he could get to. He looks to pass first. That’s just his personality. He doesn’t hunt his own shot enough, but tonight he really helped us offensively.”

The Shoes shot 43 percent overall, making 21-of-49 attempts. They were 10-for-28 from long range and 7-for-11 at the foul line. They dominated the boards, finishing with a 24-13 advantage, but turned the ball over 15 times.

The sectional championship will be a rematch between the Shoes and Eagles, who are both 21-10 on the season. T-Town posted a 43-34 win at Newton about three weeks ago.

“We need to be locked in every possession,” Reeder said. “In the playoffs, two to three bad possessions can lose you a game. Then your season is done. We need to be focused for 32 minutes.”