The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes turned in a solid road effort Friday night and came home with a 54-41 victory over Breese Central.

The game was tied 10-10 after the first quarter, but the Shoes then outscored the Cougars 14-4 in the second period to build a 24-14 halftime lead. They followed that with a 12-5 scoring edge in the third quarter to expand their lead to 36-19 heading into the final eight minutes.

Breese Central scored 22 points in the final period, but Mitch Hardiek, Luke Ungrund and Evan Wermert combined for 13 points in the fourth quarter to help the Shoes maintain their lead.

Hardiek finished with 13, while Wermert scored 11. Wermert also had eight rebounds, while Ungrund had five steals and 4 assists.

“Our defense was tremendous for 3½ quarters,” said THS coach Chet Reeder. “We came down to a hostile atmosphere and played great team basketball. Our rebounding and finishing needs to be get better, but I’m proud of our guys tonight.”

The Shoes improved to 4-1. They will travel to Paris on Tuesday and then celebrate their home opener Friday. It will be Homecoming at THS and the Shoes will host Bloomington Central Catholic.