The Teutopolis Junior High 8th grade boys split their two games at the IESA Class 8-3A State Tournament Saturday and will now play for third place.

The Wooden Shoes, now 24-4 on the season, will face Monticello at 6 p.m. Thursday at Tolono Unity Junior High School.

TJHS opened state tourney play with a 35-16 victory over Lansing Heritage. The Shoes led all the way. They were up 16-9 at halftime, but then outscored Lansing 19-7 in the second half to advance to the semifinal round.

Mitch Koester had 10 points and Evan Waldhoff added eight.

In the semifinal game, the Shoes held a 13-8 halftime lead, but South Holland McKinley outscored them 23-14 in the second half to emerge with a 31-27 victory.

Eli Hanson and Koester both scored seven points.