Fairfield’s Brayton Robertson had a chance to tie the game with only three seconds to play. But after making the first foul shot, his second attempt missed and T-Town’s Drew Hoene grabbed the rebound and was fouled with less than a second still showing on the clock.
Hoene missed both foul shots – the second one intentionally. And when the Mules’ desperation full-court heave missed, the Shoes were celebrating their 15th straight regional championship.
“I stress to our kids to enjoy this,” Reeder noted. “This isn’t something that just happens everywhere.
“You don’t win 15 straight regionals without great players,” the coach added. “But they become that because of the tremendous coaches they’ve had from fourth grade up through high school. That says a lot about our program and I’m just proud to be part of it.”
But No. 15 didn’t come easily.
The Shoes trailed, 38-37, heading into the final eight minutes. But they went on a decisive 8-0 run to open the fourth period.
Drew Hoene scored on back-to-back possessions and then Mick Niebrugge hit a jumper and added a pair of free throws. With 5:18 to play, T-Town was on top, 45-38.
About two minutes later, a basket by Landyn Thoele made it an eight-point margin, 47-39, with 3:15 still remaining.
But the Shoes were unable to put the Mules away down the stretch, largely due to free throw shooting. T-Town made just 3-of-8 foul shots in the final 1:20, which kept the door open for Fairfield.
Two free throws by Justice Dagg and then a three-pointer by Kallen Miller got the Mules to within one, 49-48, with 19 ticks still showing. Three seconds later, Hoene made a free throw for THS and Robertson was then fouled and given a chance to tie in the final seconds.
“This is a tough place to play and we knew they’d be ready,” Reeder said. “This was a really good game. Both teams competed hard. We were just fortunate to make a couple more shots.
“Our lead could have been bigger,” the coach added. “We missed some free throws and four or five uncontested layups. But the guys kept at it and we were fortunate enough to escape with the one-point win.”
It was a close game throughout.
Fairfield rattled off the final 10 points of the opening quarter to grab a 13-8 advantage. That’s when T-Town’s full-court pressure began to have an effect. It forced seven turnovers in the second period and sparked a run that turned a four-point deficit into a five-point halftime lead.
After a jumper by Dagg, the Mules held a 17-13 advantage. A shot from behind the arc by Niebrugge started the 12-3 scoring surge. Brody Thoele, who came off the bench and proved to be the catalyst the team needed, converted a turnover into a bucket that put the Shoes on top, 18-17.
“Brody was all over the place,” Reeder noted. “He’s an incredible teammate and relentless when he’s on the floor. He played the most minutes he’s played all season, but we needed him. You always know what you’re going to get from Brody. He plays with heart and guts and leaves everything on the floor.”
Gavin Addis and Alex Kremer both scored after turnovers and Landyn Thoele added an offensive putback to make it 24-17. Dagg connected from long range and Kremer made a free throw to send the Shoes to the locker room with a 25-20 lead.
“Our press wasn’t very good in the first quarter because we weren’t disciplined,” Reeder explained. “Fairfield got some early looks. We were fortunate they missed some of those shots and were only down five.
“After scouting them, we thought our depth could have an impact,” Reeder added. “We felt like we could pressure their ballhandlers and also wear them down. You could see their key guys were really, really tired. That’s what helped us go on those runs in the second and fourth quarter. That was the whole goal behind our pressure.”
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair. The game was tied four times and changed hands on five occasions.
A basket by Henry Thompson and a three-point play by Kremer gave the Shoes a 35-32 edge, but back-to-back scores by Robertson put Fairfield ahead. Addis and Robertson then traded baskets in the final minute to give the Mules the slim 38-37 edge heading into the final period.
Dagg pumped in a game-high 18 points to pace the Mules, who finished the season with a 20-13 record.
The Shoes had only player in double figures, but featured a balanced scoring attack. Hoene had 11 points, while Kremer scored nine, Niebrugge seven and Addis six.
“We had production up and down our lineup, but it’s been that way all year,” Reeder said. “Mick and Alex are our leading scorers at just under 10 points a game. Typically, a 22-win team would have at least one player averaging 15 points a game.
“But that’s a testament to our group,” the veteran coach noted. “They don’t care who scores. They just want to win.”
The Shoes shot 40 percent overall, connecting on 19-of-47 attempts. They were 4-for-20 from three-point range and just 8-for-15 at the foul line. They held a 23-14 rebounding advantage and committed only eight turnovers.
T-Town, now 22-10, advances to the Tolono Unity Sectional. Tuesday night’s semifinal game will be a rematch with Monticello. The Shoes defeated the Sages, 41-37, in early January. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Monticello will enter with an 18-13 record after beating Tolono Unity, 53-38, to win the Westville Regional.
“We’re both different teams than we were back in January,” Reeder said. “I’m expecting a tough game. It will probably come down to the team that can make a key shot or get a stop. It should be a good one.”
Also competing in the Tolono Unity Sectional will be Lawrenceville and Warrensburg-Latham. Those two teams will square off Wednesday night. The sectional championship game will be at 7 p.m. Friday.
