Madison never trailed and Javonnie Moore was the key. The senior guard hit two shots from the behind the arc and scored eight points in the first three minutes, helping the Trojans score the first 10 points of the game. It took the Shoes almost six minutes to get on the board when Evan Addis connected on a three.

The Trojans led by as many as 14 before Addis hit a pair of free throws to make it a 19-7 deficit after the opening eight minutes.

Addis hit another three to open the second period, but Madison responded with a 13-2 run. Javonnie Moore hit three more shots from long range, the final one expanding the margin to 32-12 midway through the quarter. Moore poured in 26 first-half points and the Trojans led 37-21 at intermission.

“The game plan was to prevent Moore from catching and shooting the ball,” Reeder explained. “But we didn’t communicate very well, especially on screens. Playing defense is tough, but it’s even tougher when you don’t talk to each other. We just simply didn’t guard him close enough.”

The Shoes forced three straight turnovers to open the second half and scored after each one. Evan Wermert and Jordan Hardiek knocked down 3-pointers and Matthew Deters added a short jumper to get THS within 37-29. Jordan Hardiek connected on three from long range in the quarter. His third one got T-Town to within four points, 41-37.

Jalen Moore scored right before the third period buzzer sounded. That started an 8-0 run for the Trojans. Javonnie Moore got loose for a layup and Jalen Moore converted a pair of T-Town turnovers into baskets, expanding Madison’s lead to 49-37.

The Shoes didn’t give up. Wermert and Addis had back-to-back threes that got Teutopolis to within 51-46 at the 4:14 mark. But that’s as close as it got. The Trojans made 8-of-11 free throws in the final 2½ minutes to maintain control down the stretch.

“We did make a nice run and cut it to four. But then we got shot-happy again and the ball never saw the paint,” Reeder said. “We shot 31 three-pointers tonight. That’s too many. When we get the ball inside and kick it out, we make our threes. When we just pass the ball around the perimeter and fire up a three, we don’t shoot them very well. There’s no rhythm and our feet aren’t set.

“Early in the game, they mixed up their defenses and we were a little confused,” the THS coach added. “But no matter what they were in, we weren’t aggressive and we didn’t even try to get the ball inside. Again, that’s on me. It’s something we need to focus on in practice and it’s up to me to make that happen.”

Jordan Hardiek led the Shoes with 21 points and Addis added 16.

The Shoes shot 37 percent overall, connecting on 18-of-49 shots. They were 11-of-31 from long range, but only 7-of-18 from inside the arc. T-Town was 8-for-12 from the foul line.

Teutopolis dipped to 12-5 on the season. The Shoes will play at home again on Friday and host St. Joseph-Ogden.