Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

A quality win against a quality team.

That’s how Teutopolis coach Chet Reeder summed up Saturday’s 59-51 victory at home over Tolono Unity.

After opening the season by winning three of four games and finishing second at the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament, the Shoes had a week off before returning to the court Saturday afternoon.

A three-point play by Caleb Siemer and a bucket by Brendan Niebrugge from behind the arc capped a 10-0 run, erased an early four-point deficit and gave the Shoes a lead they never relinquished.

Siemer netted nine points in the opening eight minutes, helping T-Town to a 14-7 edge. When Brendan Niebrugge connected from long range again, THS had its first double-digit lead, 23-12, midway through the second period. The Rockets got within nine, but a free throw from Kayden Althoff and another three from Brendan Niebrugge sent the Shoes to the locker room with a 33-19 advantage at intermission.

“Overall, I was happy with how we came out and played,” Reeder said. “We executed the things we’ve been working on in practice. Plus, it was just good to be playing again and especially nice to be on our home floor with fans here.”

Teutopolis maintained a double-digit lead throughout much of the second half and built the margin to 19 points, 45-26, after Brendan Niebrugge knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the game at the 3:19 mark of the third period.

But every time the Shoes threatened to really pull away, the Rockets would trim the gap to 11 or 13 points to stay within striking distance.

They were within 11 late in the third quarter, but Max Niebrugge made one free throw and Kayden Althoff made a pair from the foul stripe to give the Shoes a 48-34 edge heading into the final eight minutes.

A bucket by Max Niebrugge to open the fourth period made it a 16-point bulge. It was still a 16-point margin when Kayden Althoff connected from behind the arc with 2:59 left in the game. That gave THS a seemingly comfortable 57-41 advantage.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes split their two games Saturday to finished 3-1 and in second place at the Lady Wildcat Thanksgiving Tournament in Salem.

In the opener – and in what proved to be the championship contest – Carterville outscored T-Town 14-8 in the final eight minutes to pull away for a 50-43 victory.

The game was close throughout. The Lady Lions led 17-13 after the first quarter, 26-24 at intermission and 38-35 heading into the final eight minutes.

Carterville’s Alecia Doyle scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, including seven in the fourth period. The Lady Lions converted 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch to maintain their lead.

Kaylee Niebrugge led the Lady Shoes with 14 points, including two three-pointers and all eight of her team’s points in the final quarter. Kaitlyn Schumacher had a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Niebrugge also had five steals.

The Lady Shoes held a 32-25 rebounding advantage, but shot only 25 percent from the field, connecting on 12-of-48 shots. They were 3-for-17 from behind the arc.

THS then secured second place by bouncing back and beating Centralia 48-29, getting double-double performances from both Schumacher and Izzy Hardiek.

The Lady Shoes led by a slim 12-9 margin after the first quarter, but used a 15-2 scoring spree to build a 27-11 margin at halftime. Centralia closed to within 34-26 after the third period, but T-Town outscored the Orphan Annies 14-3 in the final quarter to finish with the 19-point win.

Hardiek had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Schumacher scored 11 points and pulled down 10 boards. Niebrugge also cracked double figures, finishing with 12 points. THS connected on 18-of-55 shots overall, a 32 percent clip, and finished 2-for-14 from long range.

The Lady Shoes are now 4-1 on the young season. They will return to action Monday, Dec. 6, at Pana.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Chet Reeder has made it very clear.

Defense will determine how successful his Teutopolis basketball team will be this year.

Following Tuesday night’s win over Highland, Reeder was not pleased. He believed the team’s defense was a bit deflated by its turnovers and cold shooting. He was adamant, claiming his team couldn’t let anything affect its defensive effort.

The Wooden Shoes didn’t shoot the ball well again Friday night and they had several turnovers, especially in the first half. But their tenacious defense never wavered.

They smothered the Mattoon guards and contained the Green Wave’s leading scorer Sam Bradbury.

And when THS went only a 9-1 scoring run in the fourth quarter, that’s what it needed to pull away and post a 43-34 victory that earned the Shoes a berth in the championship game of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.

They will face Breese Central tonight (Saturday) at 7:30 p.m. Both teams are 3-0.

“This is such a fun group to coach,” Reeder admitted. “They love to play defense. On a night we struggled to score and still get a win against a good team, that’s outstanding. This was definitely a team effort. It took everybody tonight.”

Defense was certainly the key to the win, but that fourth-quarter run was what it took to provide a cushion.

T-Town held a slim 30-28 advantage when Caleb Siemer started things by converting a Mattoon turnover into a bucket. Brendan Niebrugge hit a short jumper and then turned another Green Wave miscue into a three-pointer. After Mattoon’s Cooper Bergstro hit a free throw, James Niebrugge tipped in a missed shot, giving the Shoes a double-digit lead, 39-29, with 3:31 to play.

The Green Wave got within six, 39-33, but Max Niebrugge and Kayden Althoff made a couple free throws down the stretch to help THS maintain its lead.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

People that like defense would have loved Saturday night’s championship game of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.

There weren’t many points scored.

At times, it was even difficult just getting off a shot.

Teutopolis and Breese Central “left it all on the court,” however, battling down to the final possession.

In the end, the Cougars made a couple more shots and emerged 32-29 victors to claim the tournament title.

“We knew this would be a low-scoring, possession-by-possession game,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “These are two similar teams. We both like to pressure the other team’s offense into making mistakes. They were just a little bit better offensively than we were tonight.”

Breese Central dominated the third period, outscoring T-Town 11-2 to carry a 30-21 lead into the final eight minutes. But the Shoes refused to quit and made a valiant comeback.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Good basketball teams find a way to win.

Even on nights they don’t have their “A” game.

Tuesday was one of those nights for Teutopolis.

The Wooden Shoes missed their first nine shots, turned the ball over three times and found themselves trailing by 13 points before ever getting on the scoreboard.

But after being challenged by their coach and finally seeing some shots go in the basket, they began their comeback.

T-Town closed with two at halftime, took the lead in the third quarter and went on to post a 52-44 victory over Highland in a second-round game of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.

“I challenged them pretty hard after that first quarter,” THS coach Chet Reeder admitted. “We had some good looks, but didn’t knock them down. Then our defense got deflated.

“Our defense can never be affected by anything else,” Reeder added. “Our defense gives us energy. It has to be strong. Highland was way too comfortable. They were getting to whatever spot they wanted. We had to stop that.”

Brendan Niebrugge’s short jumper with just 17 seconds left in the opening quarter got the Shoes on the board and within 13-2 heading into the second period. That’s when the defense kicked in and the shots started falling.

Caleb Siemer grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, and Brendan Niebrugge knocked down a three getting T-Town within 13-7. After a bucket by Highland, Max Niebrugge scored and Siemer turned in a three-point play to close the gap to 15-12.

The lead fluctuated between three and six points most the quarter. The Shoes closed on a 6-2 run with Brendan Niebrugge turning in a three-point play, Siemer making a pair of three throws and Mitch Althoff adding another from the foul line.

When the teams headed to the locker room at intermission, Teutopolis was within two points, 24-22.