“I didn’t think Taylorville could continue to shoot like that,” Farmer admitted. “I figured they’d miss their first four or five shots and that we would make a run.”

That’s exactly what happened. After going 10-for-14 in the first half, the Tornados were just 1-for-5 from long range in the third quarter – 2-for-9 in the second half.

“We did make some switches in our defensive match-ups,” Farmer explained. “We moved Grant onto (Will) Turvey and Splechter took No. 3 (Will Bitschenauer). I wasn’t upset with our defensive effort after the first half. But we were better the second half. The kids did a nice job.”

Bitschenauer had a trio of three-pointers and 11 points in the first quarter. Splechter held him to just two in the second half.

Turvey was unconscious in the second period. He connected on five long shots from behind the arc, including one just before the halftime buzzer that sent the Tornadoes to the locker room with a 34-24 lead. He went 0-for-4 in the second half and didn’t score a point.

While the Hearts were tightening things up defensively, they also got into a flow at the offensive end, and led by Wolfe and Heil, immediately cut into that double-digit lead in the third period.

Drake Howard did make a three in the first minute of the second half to increase Taylorville’s lead to 11 at 37-26. But that was the only shot the Tornados made in an eight-minute stretch. Meanwhile, Heil and Wolfe both had six points, helping the Hearts get within 37-36 heading into the final period.

A three-pointer by Wolfe to open the fourth quarter capped a 13-0 run and put EHS on top 39-37, its first lead since 4-2. But Howard, who scored 10 points in the final eight minutes, sparked the Tornados on an 11-2 surge that put the guests up, 48-41, at the 4:15 mark.

But once again, Heil and Wolfe brought the Hearts back. Heil grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, Wolfe drilled another three and Heil hit a short jumper to knot the game at 48-48.

Baron Odom hit a long three for THS, but Wolfe answered with a three of his own to tie the game again, 51-51, with 1:33 to play.

Two consecutive turnovers by the Tornados resulted a bucket by Heil and two free throws by Wolfe to give the Hearts their biggest lead of the game, 55-51, with just 26 seconds to go.

But the game was far from over.

Howard scored again to close the gap to two and Wolfe missed the front of a bonus. Taylorville’s Jake McConnell was fouled on the rebound and went to the line with a chance to tie the game with 16 ticks still remaining.

He missed his foul shot, but the Tornados got the rebound. They had two three-point attempts in the final five seconds, but both were off-target, securing the win for the Hearts.

“It felt great to get that win,” Farmer admitted.

The Tornados did not look like a team that dipped to 1-18 on the season. Howard led three Taylorville players in double figures. He had 16, while Turvey finished with 15 and Bitschenauer added 13.

The Hearts also had three players in double figures. Wolfe led the way with 21 points, while Heil scored 16 and Splechter added 10. Wolfe had only four points in the opening half and Heil scored just two.

“We moved Garrett inside to start the second half,” Farmer noted. “They were playing a diamond-and-one on him and completely bottled him up in the first half. We put him inside and ran our 1-2-2 offense that rotates him in and out. I was surprised they didn’t continue defending like they did in the first half.”

The Hearts, after making just one of their first nine shots, finished at 44 percent overall. They went 20-for-45 from the floor. They were 4-for-18 from behind the arc and 11-for-17 at the line. They also held a 32-20 rebounding edge, with Heil pulling down 11 to give him a double-double performance.

“I thought Logan was the impact player of the game,” Farmer added. “He crashed the boards and really started to score. It seemed like every one of his baskets and rebounds was a big one. They just couldn’t handle him inside.”

The Hearts improved to 7-12 overall and 4-3 in the Apollo Conference. They will play at home again Tuesday against Dieterich.