Addis opened the second period with a bucket after grabbing on offensive rebound and Max Niebrugge turned another Mt. Zion miscue into a layup, making it a 31-10 advantage at the 5:54 mark of the second period.

“Our pressure defense is going to key for us this year,” Reeder noted. “We had active hands tonight; hands in the passing lanes all night. We forced some bad passes, which led to some transition points.

“And Max set the tone for us,” the THS coach added. “He loves doing that. But we have to have that from everybody. Our defense needs to turn into good offense for us.”

In addition, the shooting from behind the arc was red hot, especially in the first half and especially by Hardiek. The senior sharpshooter connected on 7-of-9 from long range in the opening 16 minutes and tallied 21 points. Overall, the Shoes were 9-for-13 from three-point range in the first two quarters.

Hardiek made three in a row at one point and when the two teams headed to the locker room at intermission, the Shoes owned a whopping 49-19 advantage.

“We made a lot of threes, but we didn’t just shoot the three,” Reeder said. “I was really pleased with how we moved the ball. Our guys were willing to pass up good shots to get great shots. They did a very good job of that. They were very unselfish.

“That’s one of the reasons Jordan go so hot,” the coach added. “He was patient and let the game come to him. The guys worked the ball and when Jordan got a pass, he shot it in rhythm. That’s what I want to see.

“The three is a big part of our game, but it can’t be the only thing we rely on. Our No. 1 goal is still to get the ball in the paint and then work to get a good shot. Shooting the three is part of our offense, but it is not our goal.”

T-Town didn’t shoot as many threes in the third period, but still blistered the nets and forced more turnovers. As a result, the lead continued to widen, ballooning to as many as 45 points – 68-23 – late in the quarter.

The Shoes ended the game shooting at a torrid 61 percent clip, connecting on 30-of-49 shots overall. They were 10-for-18 from long range and 6-for-10 from the foul stripe. They held a 22-13 rebounding advantage and forced the Braves into 21 turnovers, while committing just seven of their own.

THS had three players in double figures, led by Hardiek’s 23 points. Wermert finished with 16 and Addis had 12.

“This is year No. 3 for Wermert to be a starter for us,” Reeder noted. “He got off to a slow start last year, but hit his stride in January and February. He has worked so hard. He’s a great leader for us. The kids listen to him and look up to him.”

The Shoes will now face an even tougher task Friday, when they make the long trip to Lincoln to face the team most tab as the conference favorite.

“We’re accustomed to playing a tough schedule, so playing in the Apollo won’t be out of the ordinary for us,” Reeder said. “We know we have to play our best every night. And we know we’ll have to play better Friday than we did tonight. And that still might not be good enough. Lincoln is that good.”

Teutopolis will then return home to face Lawrenceville Saturday – a game that was just added to the schedule this week.