“I was pleased with the type of shots that were going in,” Reeder said. “We were attacking the rim, setting good screens and then passing the ball out. Jordan got in rhythm, the guys knew that and got the ball to him. But all of those shots were coming in the flow on the offense.”

Just three minutes into the second half, however, the coach was not so pleased. After Hardiek made his final three of the game, Reeder called a quick timeout and shared his displeasure with the team.

“We had six straight possessions with one or two quick passes and then shot a three,” Reeder explained. “We didn’t put any stress on their defense. We were fortunate to make a couple of those, but that’s not how we want to play. I was not pleased with our shot selection.

“But these are good kids,” Reeder added. “They took the hard coaching and moved on. We started moving the ball and getting it to where we’re supposed to. We moved it inside-out much better, which is what we want.”

Following that timeout, the Shoes got the ball inside to Matthew Deters on three straight possessions and Deters responded by scoring each time from close range.

The Shoes still connected on five 3-pointers in the quarter, but they started to come within the normal flow of the offense. Heading into the final eight minutes, T-Town had a comfortable lead, 63-36.

The hosts shot well the entire game from everywhere on the court. Overall, the Shoes connected on 28-of-48 shots, a 58 percent clip. From long range, they made 57 percent, going 16-for-28. They were also 5-of-6 from the foul line.

Taylorville, which dipped to 3-3 overall and 1-3 in the Apollo, got 11 points from Wyatt Shirley and Bryce Friedrich and 10 from Sean Czajkowski.

The Shoes also had three players reach double figures. In addition to Hardiek’s 26, Wermert scored 15 and Addis added 11.

“Over our last three games, especially, we’ve been trying to make defenses guard us and make every possession difficult for them,” Reeder said. “Plus, we’re playing better without fouling. We’re starting to show on game night what we’ve work so hard on in practice. I’m glad to see that.”

Teutopolis improved to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Shoes will be back in action today (Saturday) with a home game against a talented Meridian team that is ranked No. 7 in the Class 1A poll. The varsity game will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m.