The Mt. Zion Braves are the real deal.

And they show it Friday night.

The Braves used a 25-7 scoring advantage in the second period to gain control, en route to a 69-27 victory at home over Effingham.

Mt. Zion is now 16-0 overall and 4-0 in Apollo Conference play.

Three-pointers by Cannon Bockhorn, KJ Kellams and Ryan Pals in the opening quarter helped the Hearts stay within 17-9. But Mt. Zion’s Lyncoln Koester knocked down a trio of shots from behind the arc and scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second period, as the Braves increased their advantage to 42-16 at intermission.

Heading into the final eight minutes, the hosts were on top, 57-19.

Pals led Effingham with nine points.

The Hearts are now 2-15 overall and 1-4 in the Apollo. They will be back in action tonight (Saturday) with a game at Robinson.