“I was not surprised they came out in that zone,” THS coach Chet Reeder noted. “They are a little undersized and don’t play a lot of guys. So, I was expecting a slower paced game.

“What I didn’t like was our lack of energy and how we just stood around for a while,” Reeder added. “Their defense caused some of that, but we just didn’t have any movement. Once we made some adjustments, we started playing a little better.”

After Trager Shultz and Cooper Schallenberg both connected on three-pointers and scored five points, the Cardinals had a 12-4 lead at the 1:46 mark of the opening quarter. A three-pointer by Isaac McWhorter got the Shoes to within 12-7 at the quarter’s end.

Schallenberg scored five more points at the beginning of the second period and the Cardinals regained their eight-point cushion, 17-9. But Jason Kreke grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and converted it into a three-point play, Mick Niebrugge hit a short jumper and Gavin Addis nailed a three, getting T-Town to within 20-17 at intermission.

When Schallenberg converted a T-Town turnover into a bucket, it was still a six-point Pleasant Hills advantage, 26-20, two minutes into the second half. But the Shoes then went on a 9-0 run to close out the quarter. Niebrugge and McWhorter both scored after grabbing offensive rebounds, Addis scored after a Cardinals turnover and Drew Hoene buried a three from the corner to send Teutopolis into the final eight minutes with a 29-26 lead.

“I thought we started moving the ball better and getting better movement in the second half,” Reeder said. “Defensively, we finally started preventing them from getting the ball to the middle of the floor. That took them out of their rhythm. Plus, I think we wore them down a little.”

Down the stretch, it was all Shoes. Pleasant Plains only made 1-of-8 shots in the final period and didn’t score a point over the final 3:38. Niebrugge hit three shots and scored six points and Alex Kremer added a bucket, helping THS take control in the final minutes and expand the lead.

“I’m really proud of the kids,” Reeder said. “We weren’t at our best tonight, but we made enough winning plays to put ourselves in the position to win.”

Schallenberger led all scorers with 15 points to pace the Cardinals, who dipped to 5-6 on the season. As a team, they shot 39 percent overall, connecting on 12-of-31 attempts. They were 3-for-16 from long range and 2-for-4 from the line.

Niebrugge was the only Shoe to crack double figures, finishing with 10. Addis scored six and both Henry Thompson and McWhorter added five. T-Town made 16-of-37 shots, a 43 percent clip. They were 4-for-15 from behind the arc and 2-of-5 from the free throw line. They held a 22-13 rebounding edge, with Niebrugge and Hoene both pulling down five boards.

The Shoes, who improved to 9-3 on the season, will now square off against St. Anthony for the tournament title.

“I’m excited about it,” Reeder said. “It will be an incredible atmosphere and we’ll play a very good team. I’m just proud of our boys for doing what it took to put us in this situation.”