Basketball

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes bid for a semifinal berth in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic fell short Wednesday afternoon.

A talented and determined Newton Eagles squad twice rallied from 10-point deficits and came back to post a 58-55 victory over the Shoes at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

The Shoes led 16-14 after the first eight minutes and 32-27 at intermission. Even though they threatened to pull away a couple times, the Eagles refused to let that happen. Heading into the final period, the game was knotted at 43-43.

T-Town was up 49-47 late in the contest, but Newton outscored the hosts 11-6 down the stretch to pull out the victory and advance to the semifinal round. The Eagles were scheduled to play Lincoln-Way East at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday).

Both teams shot the ball well. Teutopolis finished at 53 percent, making 20-of-38 attempts, while Newton shot 51 percent, connecting on 19-of-37 shots. The difference was at the free throw line, where the Eagles held a 16-9 advantage.

Newton got 19 points from Parker Wolf and 16 from Evan Schafer. Wolf made a pair of free throws with just seven seconds to play that provided the final margin of victory.

The Shoes had three players in double figures. Max Niebrugge led the way with 18 points, including a three-pointer with 10 seconds to go that got T-Town to within one point. James Niebrugge scored 10 points and Caleb Siemer had another double-double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Shoes, who dipped to 9-3 on the season, were scheduled to play again at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) against St. Anthony.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

There’s nothing like rattling off 22 straight points to take control of a game.

That’s exactly what the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes did Tuesday night in the final opening-round game of the day in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

Three minutes into the game, Lutheran North had a slim 6-5 edge. But when Caleb Siemer hit a short jumper, that started a run that pretty much removed all doubt as to who would prevail in this contest.

Over the final five minutes of the opening quarter, Brendan Niebrugge knocked down a pair of three-pointers and added another three-point play, Max Niebrugge hit a couple jumpers, James Niebrugge and Siemer added two more baskets and Dylan Pruemer connected on a shot from behind the arc.

When Mitch Althoff scored 19 seconds into the second period, it completed the 22-0 scoring spree that had the Shoes on top 27-6. A free throw by the Crusaders’ Jasper Prude broke a seven-minute dry spell. But it was still a 21-point spread, 35-14, at intermission.

“Our start was really good,” THS coach Chet Reeder admitted. “No matter who you’re playing, the first couple minutes are always difficult.

“We were able to get some stops and got out in transition,” Reeder added. “I was real impressed with our ball movement. We moved the ball from side to side and got some wide open looks.”

The Shoes were red hot in the first half. They made 65 percent of their shots, connecting on 15-of-23 attempts. That included four from long range.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs will be participating in the 42^nd annual Mattoon Holiday Basketball Tournament.

The tournament is scheduled for Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 27-29.

There are eight teams entered in this year’s event.

Mattoon, Champaign Central, Decatur Eisenhower and Mahomet-Seymour are in Pool A.

St. Anthony, Galesburg, Richland County (Olney) and Altamont are in Pool B.

Each team is guaranteed five games and all games will be played at Mattoon High School.

The full schedule is listed below:

Monday, Dec. 27

Game 1 – 8:30 a.m. – Olney vs. St. Anthony

Game 2 – 10 a.m. – Mahomet-Seymour vs. Champaign Central

Game 3 – 11:30 a.m. – Mattoon vs. Decatur Eisenhower

Game 4 – 1 p.m. – Altamont vs. Galesburg

Game 5 – 3 p.m. – Decatur Eisenhower vs. Mahomet-Seymour

Game 6 – 4:30 p.m. – Galesburg vs. Olney

Game 7 – 6 p.m. – Champaign Central vs. Mattoon

Game 8 – 7:30 p.m. – St. Anthony vs. Altamont

Tuesday, Dec. 28

Game 9 – 8:30 a.m. – Champaign Central vs. Decatur Eisenhower

Game 10 – 10 a.m. – St. Anthony vs. Galesburg

Game 11 – 11:30 a.m. – Olney vs. Altamont

Game 12 – 1 p.m. – Mattoon vs. Mahomet-Seymour

Game 13 – 4 p.m. – 3^rd Place Pool A vs. 4^th Place Pool B

Game 14 – 5:30 p.m. – 4^th Place Pool A vs. 3^rd Place Pool B

Game 15 – 7 p.m. – 1^st Place Pool A vs. 2^nd Place Pool B

Game 16 – 8:30 p.m. – 2^nd Place Pool A vs. 1^st Place Pool B

Wednesday, Dec. 29

Game 17 – 3 p.m. – Loser Game 13 vs. Loser Game 14

Game 18 – 4:30 p.m. – Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14

Game 19 – Loser Game 15 vs. Loser Game 16

Game 20 – Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes opened play in the Charleston Holiday Tournament in impressive fashion Tuesday afternoon, posting a lopsided 57-11 win over the host Lady Trojans.

T-Town got eight points from Emily Konkel and six more from Izzy Hardiek and built an 18-4 lead after the first eight minutes. The lead continued to expand in the second period. Kaitlyn Schumacher netted seven points, the Lady Shoes outscored Charleston 20-1 and took a commanding 38-5 advantage to the locker room at halftime.

THS had three players in double figures – Konkel with 16, Schumacher 15 and Hardiek 13. Schumacher had an impressive double-double, also pulling down 15 rebounds.

The Lady Shoes improved to 8-3. They will return to action today (Wednesday). They will play Effingham at 2 p.m. and Tri-County at 4 p.m.

Katelyn Littleton and Madyson Rigdon proved to be a tough combination to stop.

The senior duo combined to score 45 points Monday night and lead the Paris Lady Tigers to a 51-49 victory at home over the Teutopolis Lady Shoes.

Littleton scored 15 of her game-high 23 points in the first half as the hosts built a 30-24 advantage. Rigdon then netted 13 of her 22 in the second half, including all six of her team’s points in the final eight minutes to help the state’s No. 8 Class 2A team improve to 11-1.

The Lady Shoes stayed close throughout. They trailed just 10-8 after the first period and 45-41 heading into the final eight minutes. THS owned a sizeable rebounding advantage (30-16), but just couldn’t make enough shots. They were 18-for-53 overall, a 34 percent clip.

Kaylee Niebrugge paced T-Town with 14 points, while Izzy Hardiek added 12. Kaitlyn Schumacher had a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Shoes dropped to 7-3. They will return to action Monday, Dec. 27, when they open play in the Charleston Holiday Tournament. They will face the host Lady Trojans at 4 p.m. that day.