The Shoes only had 13 turnovers in the game, but seven of those came in the second period.

Jack Paradee and Ross Sloan connected on shots from behind the arc, and by halftime, the Raiders were on top, 34-30.

“That is a really good group of players that have been playing together for a long time,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “They can do a lot of things to hurt you. Our turnovers in the second period let them back in the game. You just can’t do that, especially against a team like that. You turn the ball over against them and it’s points. They are really, really good.”

And the surge didn’t end at intermission.

Griffin Andricks, a second team all-state performer a year ago, took over in the third period. The 6’6” forward hit a three just 28 seconds into the second half, but that was just the beginning. He knocked four of those in the third quarter alone.

“That was simply blown assignments,” Reeder noted. “Our goal was not to give him any catch-can-shoot threes, but he hit four straight. Again, you just can’t do those things against teams like that.”

The lead hovered between 8 and 11 points for much of the quarter. The teams traded 3-pointers on six straight possessions, the final one being by T-Town’s Jordan Hardiek that got the Shoes within 49-41. But Heaton’s three-point play helped the Raiders take a 56-45 lead into the final eight minutes.

It was a 10-point deficit, 61-51, when the Raiders went on another run, this time a 13-5 surge – with most of their points coming at the foul line – to open a 74-56 margin. A&M made 16-of-22 foul shots in the period and maintained control down the stretch.

Early on, the Shoes were lights out from long range. Evan Addis and Mitch Hardiek both made a pair of 3-pointers and Jordan Hardiek and Evan Wermert each had one. They were 6-for-10 from three-point range in the opening eight minutes and didn’t make a two-point attempt.

Twice, THS owned 10-point leads and led 20-13 heading into the second period. The Shoes ended up making 13 threes in the game and shot 13-for-31 overall from behind the arc.

“We fell in love with the three and stopped driving it to the basket like we normally do and we didn’t get the post touches we typically do,” Reeder said. “We got passive and relied too much on the three-point shot.”

The Raiders, who made 10 three-pointers, had four players in double figures. Heaton, who scored his 2,000th career point late in the game, led the way with a game-high 20 points. Andricks scored 18, Paradee 17 and Brycen Burgener added 14.

A&M shot 52 overall from the floor and held a 22-7 advantage at the foul stripe. The Raiders finished 22-of-34, while the Shoes were 7-for-8.

T-Town also had four players in double figures. Jordan Hardiek led with 15 points, while Mitch Hardiek and Luke Ungrund both scored 11 and Addis chipped in with 10. The Shoes connected on 43 percent of their shots, connecting on 22-of-51 overall.

“I took away some positives from this game. We did some good things,” Reeder said. “Luke continues to play better and score more; Jordan, who was out the last two games, came back and looked good; Mitch continues to make shots; and Max (Niebrugge) is giving us more minutes and is just getting better.

 “But those turnovers in the second period hurt, plus we had seven or eight times we had blown assignments on defense and they seemed to come at crucial times,” the THS coach added. “But overall, we played pretty well.

“But that’s why we play games like this in January,” Reeder explained. “This will make us better in the postseason. I’m thankful for the opportunity to play this team. I think they have a great chance to win the 1A title. Their bodies, their athleticism and their skill is not something you typically see in 1A teams. I think they could compete for the 2A state title.”

The Shoes, now 12-4, will play Tuesday at home against Madison.