01-19-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE – The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes have found themselves a new home away from home.

It is called the Assembly Hall in Nashville, Illinois.

Riding the strong inside play of 6-foot-6 senior Kyle Pruemer and a defensive effort that slammed the door shut on a high powered and highly regarded 1A team Waterloo Gibault Catholic, Teutopolis made its 91-mile trek back home Saturday night with the championship of the 31st annual Nashville Invitational Tournament, 51-31.

After having spent most of the last century participating in a National Trail Conference and its annual conference tournament, the Wooden Shoes are now an Independent and toughened up the schedule this season, which included this yearly event.

In their first year playing at the NIT, Coach Andy Fehrenbacher's club took home the big prize.

Teutopolis topped 3A Mascoutah, defending 2A state-champs Breese Central and Gibault this week to improve to 17-3 on the season.

Pruemer scored 19-points to lead all scorers and T-Town used its signature defense and rebounding persona to pull away from the Hawks in the second half to secure the crown.

“Our defense was terrific tonight. Coach Rueter is a fantastic coach and I knew he would have his kids ready tonight and they have a really nice team. But I think our defensive pressure really took its toll on them tonight as the game wore on,” said Coach Fehrenbacher. “They (Gibault) have pretty good athletes and their guards are good and can put it on the floor. I think our defensive pressure wore them down.”

Leading 24-17 at the half, the Shoes kicked off the third quarter with a 10-0 run to knock the Hawks back on their collective heels.

Jared Waldhoff got the party started by nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the circle on a set play to give Teutopolis its first double-digit lead with just over a minute gone in the third frame.

Pruemer, who would have probably earned MVP of the tournament if their was such an award in the event, scored seven points in the quarter.

The senior forward took a pair of assists from Waldhoff and reserve Cody Will in the run.

By the time Pruemer finished his scoring spree with a shot in the lane at the 3:08 mark, the Wooden Shoes were firing on all cylinders at 36-22.

“We have been putting a lot of time in our half-court offense execution,” added Coach Fehrenbacher. “It is nice to see that all of the time and effort you put into practice work during game situations. Especially playing against a quality team like them (Gibault).”

Gibault had few bright spots a the Hawks saw their mark slip to 17-4.

Coach Dennis Rueter, who had won his 600th game the night before in a semifinal win over Breese Mater Dei, saw his club lose for the third time in tournament championship games this season.

The Hawks were the bride's maids twice previously at the Metro-East Lutheran Thanksgiving Tournament (Roxana) and the Freeburg/Columbia Holiday Tournament (Alton Marquette) in its two other regular season events.

“We didn't react to some things that they (Teutopolis) did tonight. I think that we knew what we wanted to do but we just didn't do it,” said Coach Rueter. “But that's not to take anything away from what Teutopolis did. They were very good tonight. They are long on the perimeter and we struggled with it. Their length and quickness bothered us.”

Wes Degener led Gibault with 11-points while teammate Nick Row finished with 10.

Gibault started the game well, jumping out to a 10-4 early advantage behind a drive to the basket and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions by senior guard Matt Schreder.

Teutopolis stormed back to even the contest at 13-all at the end of the first quarter.

Using his deep bench, Coach Fehrenbacher brought in reserve Devin Falbe who provided some instant offense.

Falbe finished with seven points and nailed a 3-pointer in a run that got the game tied.

The Wooden Shoes carried that momentum into the second quarter with Derek Smith and Will getting in on the scoring act.

A 3-pointer by Will and a drive to the basket by Smith forced a Gibault timeout at 18-13 'Shoes.

Degener tried to keep his team close, scoring twice in the second quarter on drives to the basket.

However Pruemer scored twice in the quarter himself, and when his deuce from near the basket with 1:25 left found the bottom of the net, T-Town led 24-17 at the break.

Gibault attempted a rally in the fourth quarter, getting a score from Degener on a in-bounds lob to open the final frame, which cut the Wooden Shoes lead to just 36-26.

However Teutopolis made another run, fueled by its defense, to remove the drama.

Forcing Gibault into five fourth quarter turnovers, the 'Shoes outgunned the Hawks the rest of the way.

A 13-2 sprint, with Pruemer scoring twice again in the paint, provided the championship celebration setup.

When reserve Reed Hardiek nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:07 remaining, Teutopolis led 47-29.

Soon afterwards both teams went to their respective benches to run out the clock.

“He (Pruemer) had a fantastic tournament. He has really stepped up into a leadership role on our team,” said Coach Fehrenbacher. “Him and Derek Smith have accepted their leadership roles and the guys are really following them.”

Following Pruemer and Falbe in scoring were Smith with six points; and five points each from Will and Waldhoff.

The Shoes were very good from the floor, hitting 19-of-37 overall attempts, and 4-of-9 from 20-feet.

The key to the contest was their defensive effort, holding the Hawks to just 28 percent overall (13-of-45) as Gibault connected on just 2-of-10 from behind the arc.

Gibault held a slight rebounding advantage at 25-21. But when you hit over 50 percent of your shots, like T-Town did, there won't be nearly as many offensive rebounding chances.

Behind Degener and Row, Schrader added five points for the Hawks.

Teutopolis held the high scoring Hawks well below their normal production as Gibault entered the contest averaging 57.2 points a game.

Pruemer and Smith were named to the first team all-tournament squad as was Degener.

Gibault's Mitch Meyer was picked second team all-tournament.

“The kids were excited about this tournament. Going to the NTC was great, the tradition and convenience for the fans. But the competition level is great here,” finalized Coach Fehrenbacher. “They do a fantastic job running this tournament and they made us feel at home. The kids loved playing here in this gym.”

Teutopolis (51) – Smith 1 0 4-4 6, Waldhoff 1 1 0-0 5, Windell 0 0 0-0 0, Will 1 1 0-1 5, Hardiek 0 1 2-2 5, Falbe 1 1 2-2 7, Kenter 0 0 0-0 0, Beck 0 0 0-0 0, Niemerg 0 0 0-0 0, Schultz 1 0 0-0 2, Mette 1 0 0-0 2, Pruemer 9 0 1-4 19. 2FG-15, 3FG-4, FT-9-13, PF-9.
Waterloo Gibault Catholic (31) – Z. Rueter 0 0 0-0 0, Jared Rueter 0 0 0-0 0, Jacob Rueter 0 0 0-0 0, Meyer 0 0 0-0 0, Degener 5 0 1-2 11, Neff 0 0 0-0 0, Row 3 1 1-1 10, Bircher 0 0 0-0 0, Schrader 1 1 0-0 5, B. McFarland 1 0 0-0 2, Toal 0 0 1-2 1, Deterding 0 0 0-0 0, Weiler 1 0 0-1 2.
2FG-11, 3FG-2, FT-3-6, PF-16.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

Senior guard Adam Etter led Mater Dei with 14-points, including a key basket in the fourth quarter.

Eric Vandeloo added seven points while Mitchell Langenhorst tossed in six in the low scoring affair.

Central (13-7) was led by Kyler Scheer with seven points as the Cougars were just 7-of-25 from the field and finished with 14-turnovers.

Breese Central (21) – Meyer 0 0 0-0 0, Imming 0 0 0-0 0, Becker 1 0 1-2 3, Perez 0 1 0-0 3, Rickhoff 1 1 1-2 6, Scheer 3 0 1-2 7, Newkirk 0 0 0-0 0, Jackson 0 0 2-2 2, Harmon 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-5, 3FG-2, FT-5-8, PF-13.
Breese Mater Dei (32) – Etter 6 0 2-5 14, Thole 0 0 1-2 1, Deiters 0 0 2-2 2, Lampe 0 0 0-0 0, Vandeloo 3 0 1-3 7, Kampwerth 0 0 0-0 0, Langenhorst 0 2 0-0 6, Hitpas 1 0 0-0 2, Toennies 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-10, 3FG-2, FT-6-12, PF-11.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

NASHVILLE 54, MASCOUTAH 44
The host Hornets, after dropping their first game of the tournament to Mater Dei, won two straight contests to take home the consolation championship.

Chance Rueter sparked the consy title win with 19-points for Nashville (16-5) while Royce Newman added 10.

Scott Brown scored nine points and Daniel Thorson added eight.

Alex King led Mascoutah (6-12) with 17-points.

Mascoutah (44) – Nelson 0 1 0-0 3, Parks 1 1 4-5 9, Oltmann 1 0 2-2 4, Moore 2 1 2-2 9, Limuel 0 0 0-2 0, King 6 0 5-7 17, Norrenberns 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-11, 3FG-3, FT-13-18, PF-17.
Nashville (54) – Reuter 2 5 0-3 19, Brown 0 2 3-4 9, Thorson 1 0 6-6 8, Jasper 0 0 0-0 0, Anderson 1 0 0-0 2, Styninger 0 0 0-0 0, Beetley 0 0 0-0 0, Holle 3 0 0-0 6, Newman 2 0 6-6 10.
2FG-9, 3FG-7, FT-15-19, PF-14.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

WESCLIN 48, FREEBURG 43 (OT)
The Warriors, after having scored just two points in the third quarter, rallied with 19-points in the fourth stanza to force overtime against Cahokia Conference rival Freeburg in the seventh place game.

Then Wesclin (7-12) outscored the Midgets, 8-3 in the extra session to post the victory.

Michael Klein led the way with 22-points for Wesclin, as he hit 10-of-15 free throws.

Brady Kunz added 15-points to the cause while Jared Steenbergen added seven.

Freeburg (7-13) was led by Jacob Mueller with 12-points and Dalton Crunk with 10.

Freeburg (43) – Crunk 2 2 0-0 10, Livers 2 0 0-0 4, Yung 0 1 0-0 3, Berger 1 0 0-0 2, G. Diecker 0 0 0-0 0, Mueller 2 5 1-2 20, Kemper 0 0 0-0 0, McDonald 1 0 0-2 2, J. Diecker 1 0 0-2 2.
2FG-9, 3FG-8, FT-1-4, PF-19.
Wesclin (48) – Goff 0 0 0-0 0, Steenberger 2 1 0-0 7, Klein 6 0 10-15 22, Eversgerd 1 0 0-0 2, Thoele 0 0 0-0 0, Kunz 4 0 7-12 15, Hilmes 1 0 0-1 2.
2FG-14, 3FG-1, FT-17-28, PF-12.
Fouled Out – J. Diecker - Freeburg.
Technical Fouls – None.

The NIT all-tournament first team was Kyle Pruemer and Derek Smith of Teutopolis; Wes Degener of Waterloo Gibault; Adam Etter of Mater Dei and Austin Rickhoff of Breese Central. The all-tournament second team was Justin Diecker of Freeburg; Alex King of Mascoutah; Michael Klein of Wesclin; Mitch Meyer of Waterloo Gibault and Royce Newman of Nashville.