The Mt. Zion Braves outscored Effingham 41-12 in the middle two quarters Saturday afternoon to pull away for a 58-24 Apollo Conference road victory.

The Hearts were within 12-7 after the first eight minutes, but the game wasn’t close after that. The Braves led 31-14 at halftime and 53-19 heading into the fourth period.

Mt. Zion, which improved to 14-4 overall and 5-0 in conference play, had three players in double figures. Jacob Harvey led the way with 13 points, while JC Anderson scored 11 and Lyncoln Koester added 10.

Nolan Fearday and Brady McDaniel both had six for Effingham.

The Hearts fell to 6-13 overall and 2-4 in the Apollo. They will return to action Tuesday at home against Dieterich. EHS will then play again Wednesday night at the Salem Invitational Tournament, facing Centralia at 7:30 p.m.