For the fourth time this season, the overtime period was unkind to the Effingham Hearts.

Charleston made 11-of-16 free throws and outscored the Hearts 18-10 in the extra session to come away with a 69-61 win Tuesday night at EHS.

The Trojans will now be added to the list that includes Mascoutah, Pleasant Plains and Champaign Central as teams Effingham has lost in OT to.

Charleston jumped out to a 20-8 lead after the opening eight minutes, but the Hearts then went on a 19-6 scoring run in the second period to take a 27-26 edge to the locker room at halftime. Andrew Splechter scored eight points in that quarter.

Effingham was still on top, 38-36, heading into the final quarter.

Splechter scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Hearts. Garrett Wolfe and Donaldson were also in double figures, finishing with 14 and 12 points respectively.

The Hearts dipped to 10-18 overall and are now 4-6 in the Apollo Conference. They have two more games this week. They will be at home Friday night against Lincoln and then play in the Wooden Shoes Shootout in Teutopolis on Saturday. They will face Jerseyville at 3:30 p.m.