Turnovers also played a key role in the overtime loss to Brooks on opening night. The Shoes were guilty of 27 miscues in that game and then turned it over a total of 26 times against Sacred Heart Griffin.

Despite the high number of turnovers, the Shoes were still in the game and made a run in the fourth quarter.

A pair of free throws by Evan Addis and a bucket by Evan Wermert trimmed the gap to 54-45 with 3:31 to play. After a basket by SHG, Brock Deters hit a short jumper and Jordan Hardiek connected from long range. That got the Shoes within six points, 56-50.

It was still a six-point margin when SHG’s Andrew Schluter was fouled. He made his first foul shot and missed his second. But Ingram grabbed the rebound and scored to make it a nine-point spread, 61-52, with 1:22 remaining.

Jordan Hardiek was fouled while attempting a three-point shot with 49 ticks still left. He made all three foul shots to make it 62-56, but that was the last time the Shoes scored in the game.

“The boys just kept plugging away,” Reeder noted. “They just kept trying to get things done and kept fighting. We made a few shots and got it to a two-possession game. But that rebound after a missed free throw broke our backs.

“But I’ll never stop being proud of this team,” the THS coach added. “They work so hard and have great effort. They’re upset with how they played and I’m upset, too. But we’re going to keep working and get where we need to be.”

The Cyclones never trailed in the game. After back-to-back buckets by Schluter in the opening period, they built an early seven-point cushion, 13-6. But 3-pointers by Jordan Hardiek and Addis closed the gap to 16-14 by the end of the quarter.

The score was tied four times in the second period. Wermert scored seven points in the quarter, but SHG owned a 35-30 advantage as the teams headed to the locker room at halftime.

Jordan Hardiek led all scorers in the game with 22 points, while Wermert, who was named to the all-tournament team, added 11 points and seven rebounds. The Shoes shot 42 percent overall, connecting on 16-of-38 attempts. They were 6-for-16 from three-point range and 18-of-23 from the foul line.

T-Town finished the tourney with a 2-2 record and is now 9-3 on the season.

“Overall, I’m happy with how we played,” Reeder said. “Nobody hates losing more than I do. The way we lost our two games in the tourney, with the turnovers we had, were ugly losses.

“But I also saw some improvements,” Reeder added. “Evan Wermert played like a man in this tournament. Evan Addis broke out, Luke (Ungrund) showed more maturity and Jordan was back to shooting the ball better. This team will just keep working and we’re just going to keep getting better.”

The Shoes will return to action Friday night at Effingham. It was the game originally scheduled for December 17, but was cancelled due to snow.