Thornton Fractional North jumped out to a first-quarter lead and were never headed Thursday night, en route to a 61-50 win over Effingham in an opening-round game of the 71st annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.
Jayden Small knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points, as the Meteors jumped out to a 16-6 lead. The Hearts were within seven points at halftime, 30-23, and after three quarter, 41-34. TF North then outscored Effingham 20-16 in the final eight minutes to secure the win.
“We struggled with their pressure and didn’t rebound as well as we should have,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “It was like we were moving in slow motion against them. They are quick and aggressive and had a hand on everything.”
Garrett Wolfe led the Hearts with a game-high 19 points and Andrew Donaldson added 11.
Effingham, now 8-13 on the season, will play two games on Saturday. The Hearts will face Salem at 12:30 p.m. The winner of that game will be in the consolation championship at 5 p.m. The loser will play for 7th place at 3:30 p.m.
