Published on March 7, 2026 11:02 am
Last Updated on March 7, 2026 11:08 am
MONTICELLO — It was a finish for the ages. It was the kind of game no witnesses — and certainly no participants — are likely to ever forget. It was the kind of game, quite frankly, we’ve come to expect to go Teutopolis High School’s way in recent years.
But for the Wooden Shoes boys basketball team, Friday’s heart-stopping finish was also a heartbreaking end to a bid for a fifth straight trip to super-sectional play.
Tolono Unity senior Brayden Henry took an inbounds pass with 5.8 seconds remaining in the championship game of the Class 2A Monticello Sectional and with a few swift right-handed dribbles was able to drive most of the length of the floor and knock down a contested layup just a second or two ahead of the buzzer to give the Rockets a 59-58 victory over Teutopolis.
The Henry bucket sparked an ear-bursting cacophony inside a stuffed Sievers Center that was already buzzing on the verge of explosion when just moments earlier T-town’s Isaac McWhorter had driven from the right wing after Joey Probst had knocked loose a Tolono inbounds pass, spun into the paint and banked home his game-high 22nd and 23rd points of the night to put the Shoes (30-4) up one and seemingly seal Unity’s fate.
Instead, the Rockets (32-2) used their final time out to draw up the play that ultimately staved off a third loss to T-town this season. Henry led his club with 20 points, none bigger than the final two.
There were moments in the contest, particularly the second half, during which it looked like the Rockets had already wrapped up their revenge for their only two losses all season. After falling behind early, T-town erased a seven-point second quarter deficit to lead 25-23 at halftime but was outscored 18-11 in the third and saw Unity’s edge widen to as many as nine points as the fourth quarter progressed.
But this is T-town boys basketball we’re talking about. Nobody was ready to be done and the Shoes battled all the way back to take a couple different one-point leads late in the game, including the McWhorter basket in the waning seconds.
McWhorter was the catalyst all period long, scoring 13 of his 23 in that final stanza. That included three of his five three-point baskets on the evening, each one bigger than the last. The senior has been the Shoes’ leading scorer throughout the postseason and put the squad on his back in crunch time when physical ailments were clearly taking their toll on some of T-town’s other key contributors.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to pull off yet another dramatic postseason triumph in the manner fans could almost be excused for taking for granted during coach Chet Reeder’s incredibly successful eight years on the Shoes’ bench. T-town’s mentor entered the game having presided over 199 victories against just 62 losses at his post, including countless breathtaking sectional thrillers like Tuesday’s semifinal against Warrensburg-Latham.
Gavin Addis also scored in double figures for the Shoes with 13, while Landyn Thoele had nine. Along with McWhorter, Addis, Thoele and Probst, seniors Jason Kreke, Landyn Buening, Gavin Buening and Davin Worman all suited up for the final time.
Unity, having exorcised some demons from a 56-50 loss on Dec. 6 at J.H. Griffin Gym along with a 37-36 loss to T-town in the title game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic on Dec. 31, will move on to Monday’s Pontiac Super-Sectional. It will face Kankakee Bishop McNamara, which upset Yorkville Christian 69-56 in overtime to claim the Seneca Sectional.
Class 2A Monticello Sectional
Championship
at the Sievers Center
TOLONO UNITY (59)
B. Henry 9-2 — 20, T. Henry 4-0 — 10, Hoggard 3-0 — 6, Langendorf 3-2 — 8, Eisenmenger 3-3 — 10, O’Neill 0-2 — 2, Schmid 0-0 —0 , Styan 1-0 — 3. TOTALS 23 FG, 10 FT.
TEUTOPOLIS (58)
McWhorter 8-2 — 23, Jo. Probst 1-0 — 2, Kreke 0-0 — 0, Addis 5-3 — 13, Thoele 4-0 — 9, Ja. Probst 1-0 — 3, L. Buening 2-0 — 4, G. Buening 2-0 — 4, Mette 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 23 FG, 5 FT.
Unity 16 7 18 18 — 59
Teutopolis 11 14 11 22 — 58
3-Point FG — Unity 3 (T. Henry 2, Eisenmenger), Teutopolis 7 (McWhorter 5, Thoele, Ja. Probst).