Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

How many times have you heard coaches talk about how important the first three to five minutes of the second half are?

Regardless of the level, those crucial minutes have proven to be the difference in countless games through the years.

And it happened again Wednesday night.

After playing on even terms with the state’s No. 2-ranked team in the first half, the opening 3½ minutes of the third period proved to be a killer for Teutopolis.

The Wooden Shoes missed their first three shots and turned the ball over three times. Breese Mater Dei, on the other hand, was nearly perfect. The Knights converted after all three of those turnovers and made their first five shots.

The result was a 12-0 run that carried Breese Mater Die to a 63-46 win in a semifinal game of the Shelbyville Class 2A Sectional.

“We didn’t execute how we wanted to,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “We had a couple silly turnovers and Breese came down and made shots. That got them rolling.”

The Shoes trailed by just one point at halftime, 22-21. But Jacob Schadegg opened the second half with a 3-pointer. Mitchell Haake then hit a short jumper, followed by a three, and Grant Goebel added a free throw and yet another from long range.

At the 4:48 mark, Breese Mater Dei had opened a 34-21 advantage. By the end of the quarter, it was a 40-26 margin.

A free throw by Evan Addis and 3-pointer from Jordan Hardiek got T-Town to within 42-30, but the Shoes were unable to get any closer. Luke Ungrund made a pair of threes and Jordan Hardiek added another from behind the arc, but the Knights converted at the foul line over and over again, preventing THS from closing the gap.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

“You have to live in the moment. Live in it, love it and go out and take it.”

That was Chet Reeder’s instructions to his team in the huddle before starting the final quarter.

And that’s exactly what they did.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes put together a strong fourth quarter, erased a six-point deficit, scored what proved to be the game-winning basket with 15 seconds to play and then withstood a last-second attempt by Pana.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Shoes were celebrating a 59-58 victory and Coach Reeder was seen running down the sideline with arms extended above his head.

After a season of both rewarding and frustrating moments, it was his T-Town squad hoisting the Paris Class 2A Regional championship plaque.

“I’m incredibly proud of these kids,” an emotional Reeder said moments after getting hugs from his wife and parents. “There were so many ups and downs in this game. But the boys kept plugging away. They did what we worked on in practice. They played together and they played hard. I’m just so happy for these kids.”

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Survive and advance.

That’s the postseason motto.

Win and live to play another day

Lose and the season is over.

Despite being the much higher seed and despite having already beaten Robinson twice this season, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes found themselves fighting for survival the entire game. They trailed by as many as 13 points and were still down six with six minutes to play before going on a 25-14 run to close out the game.

So yes, T-Town did survive by posting a 63-58 victory over the Maroons Tuesday night in a semifinal contest of the Paris Class 2A Regional.

And yes, the Shoes will advance to the regional final Friday where they will play either Newton or Pana.

“Beating a team three times in a season is never an easy task,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “Robinson’s record (10-19) is very misleading. They were 6-2 in their conference and in every single ball game. I think they were greatly mis-seeded. They deserved a better seeding than they received.”

Tickets for the Teutopolis boys sectional basketball game will go on sale Monday morning at the high school athletic office.

Shelbyville High School is hosting the Class 2A sectional.

The Wooden Shoes will face Breese Mater Dei Wednesday night. The doors will open to the public at 6 p.m. and tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Tickets for that game will be sold in the following manner:

•8 a.m. – tournament players and managers

•8:20 a.m. – cheerleaders

•8:30 a.m. – non-tournament boys basketball players

•9 a.m. – girls basketball players

•9:15 a.m. – Pomerettes

•Lunch Hour – students

•1-3 p.m. – qualified staff

•4-5 p.m. – Gold Seat holders, current Sports Backers committee members and then the general public (no admittance to the THS building until 3:50 p.m.)

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Oh, for one more minute.

Or one more timeout.

Unfortunately, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes didn’t have either.

The T-Town girls made a valiant comeback in the final two minutes and clearly had all the momentum as those final precious seconds kept ticking off the clock. Despite trimming a seemingly insurmountable 10-point deficit down to two, it wasn’t enough.

The Carterville Lady Lions made just enough free throws in the final minute to hang on and post a 57-55 victory over Teutopolis Monday night in the McLeansboro Class 2A Super Sectional contest.

“We were down 10 with about two minutes to play, but the girls kept at it. They didn’t give up,” THS coach Laurie Thompson said. “They made some big shots and worked their tails off to get back in the game. I’m extremely proud of them.”

After two free throws by Jeniah Thompson, the Lady Lions owned a 50-40 lead with 2:20 left on the clock. T-Town’s Kaitlyn Schumacher, who easily had her best game of the season, hit a short jumper to get the comeback started.

Olivia Niemerg drilled a 3-pointer and then scored again, and Schumacher added a free throw to trim the lead to 54-48 as the clock ticked under one minute to play.

Carterville was then quickly fouled after each possession. On three straight trips to the free throw line, Alecia Doyle, Megan Barton and then Doyle again made one of the two foul shots.