Late in the half, another free throw from Fearday and a score after grabbing an offensive rebound by Hayden Wendling, created a 20-20 tie. But the Eagles scored the final five points to take a 25-20 lead to the locker room at intermission.

The lead fluctuated between four and five points in the third period until Traub connected from behind the arc to narrow the Brooks lead to 29-28. The Hearts had plenty of open shots in the quarter, but didn’t score again. The Eagles ran off the final seven points to take a 36-38 advantage into the final eight minutes.

“Yes, we had some open looks,” Thompson said. “But if we had made just one more pass, we would have probably had a layup rather than an open three. We’re not seeing the floor or thinking one play ahead. Until we start doing these things, we’re going to remain on the struggle bus.”

The first-year Effingham coach was pleased with the effort he received from two players – Nolan Fearday and Hayden Wendling.

“I thought Nolan was awesome,” the EHS coach noted. “He was diving on the floor, going after loose balls and rebounding. Hayden was playing hard, too. I was happy with both of those guys. We need more guys to step up and start playing like that.”

Terrell Lowery led the Eagles, who improved to 8-4, with 12 points. He was their only player in double figurers. They shot 45 percent overall, making 18-of-40 shots. They were 4-for-10 from long range and 9-for-11 at the foul line.

Traub led the Hearts with 10 points, while Jake Niebrugge added nine. EHS shot just 32 percent, connecting on 13-of-44 attempts. They were 4-for-18 from three-point range and 3-for-7 at the free throw line. They turned the ball over 16 times.

The Hearts, who have now dropped five straight, are 3-10 on the season. They were scheduled to play Oregon at 10:30 a.m. Friday at EHS. The winner of that game will play again at 4:30 p.m., while the loser will return to action at 6 p.m. in the Auxiliary Gym at Effingham High School.