Teutopolis outscored Charleston 39-23 in the second half Friday night, en route to a 67-50 victory at home in an Apollo Conference contest.

The game was very close in the first half. Even though Evan Wermert connected on four three-pointers and poured in 20 points, the Shoes held a slim 28-27 lead at intermission.

Wermert scored nine more in the third period and T-Town expanded the margin to 50-42. The Shoes then went on a 17-8 scoring spree in the final eight minutes to extend the final margin to 17 points.

Wermert finished with 29 points and was the only THS player to reach double figures. Caleb Siemer had eight points and Matthew Deters added seven. Wermert also had a team-high six rebounds, while Max Niebrugge dished out seven assists.

The Shoes improved to 10-4 overall and 5-4 in the Apollo Conference. They will play again today (Saturday) at St. Joe-Ogden.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Yes, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes made six straight free throws in the final 31 seconds.

But Jordan Hardiek’s three-pointer about one minute earlier was arguably the most important shot of the game.

That basket wiped out a momentary deficit and gave T-Town the spark it needed to post a hard-fought 53-50 victory Thursday night at home over its cross-creek rival St. Anthony.

Hardiek’s shot from well behind the arc went in, but was that the shot the coach wanted in that situation?

“Yes,” THS coach Chet Reeder quickly responded.

“That was a set play,” Reeder explained. “We set a ball screen to get him that shot. It wasn’t exactly the spot on the floor we drew it up, but I had all the confidence in him, especially in that moment. Jordan doesn’t shy away from the big moments.”

Hardiek’s crunch-time three came at the 1:38 mark of the fourth quarter, just 14 seconds after Seth Hotze had scored to put the Bulldogs on top 45-44. It was just their third lead of the game and their first since it was 24-23.

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The Teutopolis Lady Shoes used a huge third quarter to pull away for 70-37 win at home Friday night over Warrensburg-Latham.

The Lady Shoes led throughout and were on top 34-20 at halftime. Then they came out in the third quarter, knocked down five shots from behind the arc and went on a 29-4 scoring spree that opened a comfortable 63-24 advantage.

Lexie Niebrugge had a pair of those threes, while Zoe Cremens, Grace Tegeler and Emily Konkel also connected. Kaitlyn Schumacher and Kaylee Niebrugge added six points each in that big third quarter.

T-Town had three players in double figures. Lexie Niebrugge led the way with 16 points, while Schumacher scored 14 and Kaylee Niebrugge added 10. Kaylee Niebrugge also pulled down seven rebounds.

The Lady Shoes improved to 11-5 overall. They will play today (Saturday) at St. Joe-Ogden and return home Monday to face Mahomet-Seymour. THS is 8-4 in the Apollo Conference.

For the second game in a row, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes had a lead going into the fourth quarter.

And for the second game in a row, one of the area’s best players led a comeback charge.

Tuesday night it was Danville’s Erin Houpt and Thursday night it was Charleston’s Shae Littleford.

Littleford scored 12 of her game-high 29 points in the final eight minutes, helping the Lady Trojans stay undefeated by posting a 54-50 victory at home over T-Town.

Littleford hit a pair of threes and scored eight points, as Charleston built a 16-9 lead after the first quarter. Kaitlyn Schumacher scored six points and Lexie Niebrugge added five, helping the Lady Shoes close to within 27-25 at halftime.

 THS then went on a 12-6 scoring run in the third quarter to take a 37-33 advantage into the final period. Littleford then converted 8-of-11 from the free throw line and added two more baskets to help Charleston secure the win.

T-Town had three players in double figures. Schumacher led the way with 17 points, while Lexie Niebrugge and Kaylee Niebrugge both scored 13. Kaylee Niebrugge ended with a double-double, as she also pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Lady Shoes dipped to 10-5 overall and 8-4 in the Apollo Conference. They will play two more non-conference games this week – Friday at home against Warrensburg-Latham; and Saturday at St. Joe-Ogden.