“Offensively, we prepared for several defenses,” Farmer said. “We worked on a 2-1-2, a 1-2-2 and a trapping defense. We tried to be ready for different looks. We just told the guys to look for gaps and make basketball plays. Thornton is the second most athletic team we’ve seen.”

The third quarter sealed it. Wolfe went 3-for-3 from behind the arc and Dalton Fox knocked down another, helping EHS go on a 13-4 surge to open a comfortable lead, 42-20. The Meteors got to within 19 once in the final quarter, but the Hearts kept pouring it on and Wolfe closed out the game with a 10-point quarter that helped the Hearts secure the 27-point win.

EHS shot the ball well throughout. They made 55 percent of their shots overall, hitting 21-of-38. They were 9-for-17 from long range, a 53 percent clip, and 14-of-18 from the foul line.

“We gave ourselves time to shoot on offense,” Farmer noted. “We moved the basketball, forced their defense to rotate and didn’t force shots.”

The Hearts did turn the ball over 20 times against TFN’s pressure.

“In any other game, that would have probably been a big issue,” Farmer admitted. “But they struggled so much on offense, we got by with it. It’s just impossible to simulate that quickness and pressure in practice.”

Wolfe finished with six three-pointers and 30 points to lead all scorers.

“Garrett got into the 30-point club, along with his older brothers,” the EHS coach said. “Not many kids can score that many points in a game. He took smart shots. Plus, he managed the game well for us. He made sure his teammates were in the right spot and took care of the basketball on top of scoring 30 points.”

The Hearts improved to 8-13 on the season and advanced to the consolation championship where they faced Champaign Central later Saturday.