“We didn’t shoot well, but I was happier with our shot selection tonight,” Reeder noted. “We still shot 26 threes, but for the most part, they were good threes. We did the right thing of driving to the basket and then looking to dish.

“I questioned some of the non-foul calls,” Reeder explained. “I thought we should have shot a lot more free throws than we did. We were aggressive to the basket, but we didn’t get the calls. That didn’t affect the outcome of the game, but I do think we should have gone to the foul line more often than we did.”

Carbondale led by as many as 27 points in the final period, but the Shoes didn’t quit playing. Evan Wermert, Evan Addis and Jack Poelker each hit shots from behind the arc. Max Niebrugge hit a short jumper, Dylan Pruemer added a bucket and Poelker had a free throw, helping the Shoes get as close as 18 near the end.

“I was proud of our fight tonight,” Reeder said. “Carbondale threw some haymakers, but we just kept getting back up. The kids dug in and played hard. We tied them for total rebounds, which is a heckuva accomplishment against that team.”

A 3-pointer by Wermert gave the Shoes their only lead of the game, 5-4. By the end of the first eight minutes, the Terriers were on top 13-9.

A three by Addis made it a one-point deficit to open the second quarter, but Carbondale responded by going on a 10-2 run. A three-point play by Baltz capped the surge and opened a 23-14 margin. The lead was as large as 11 before Wermert hit a three to make it 30-22 at intermission.

Wermert was the only T-Town player to crack double figures, finishing with 15 points. Macklin and Baltz led Carbondale with 21 and 17 points respectively.

The Shoes shot 36 percent for the game overall, making 16-of-44 attempts. They were 7-for-26 from three-point range, a 27 percent clip, and 6-for-8 from the foul line.

“I really do believe we’ve got a postseason run in us,” Reeder said. “And playing the kind of quality teams we did in this tournament will help. We were challenged and pushed.

“We’ve got 10 regular season games left and then postseason,” the THS coach added. “With the group we have, I really do believe they’ll take this as a challenge to get better. And we will get better. I know they will.”

The Shoes, now 13-7 on the season, will play Tuesday at Mt. Zion and then return home to face Taylorville on Saturday.