Nolan Fearday scored to open the second quarter, but those were the final two points Effingham scored in the first half. The Tigers connected on five shots from three-point range, took advantage of more turnovers and ran off 21 straight points to build the 30-point halftime cushion.

In that first half, the Hearts made just 2-of-13 shots and turned the ball over 18 times.

“We had a few stretches where I thought we showed patience, but then the turnover bug hit us and everything snowballed,” Thompson noted. “It showed we aren’t used to playing that type of physicality. At times, I thought the boys were actually trying too hard. Plus, Edwardsville is a good ballclub.”

The second half was much better.

Bockhorn scored four points and Adam Flack drilled a three, helping the Hearts outscore Edwardsville 12-8 in the third period. Effingham got as close as 19 points, 53-34, late in the fourth quarter. Jude Traub connected from behind the arc and Brady McDaniel scored six points down the stretch to help EHS narrow the gap.

For the Hearts, 15 players saw action. But that was one of Thompson’s plans coming into the season-opening tournament.

“I need to figure out who makes us click; who our best combinations are,” the coach explained. “Hopefully, we’ll start figuring out our identity; who our top seven or eight guys are. The majority of the minutes will go to the guys that can run our offense and play as a group on defense. I’ll also be looking for who can come in off the bench, give us a couple good minutes and provide a spark.”

Bockhorn led the Hearts with nine points and McDaniel added six. EHS shot 41 percent overall, hitting 11-of-27 attempts. They were 2-for-6 from three-point range and 10-for-12 from the foul line. Effingham turned the ball over 27 times.

Martin had 16 points for the Tigers and Miccah Butler also reached double figures with 11.

The Hearts will return to action today (Wednesday), facing Rantoul at 5 p.m. Other games tonight include Robinson vs. Mattoon at 6:30 p.m. and St. Anthony against Edwardsville at 8 p.m.