After that 2½-minute stretch, the Hearts led 41-26. By the end of the third quarter, it was a 19-point bulge, 49-30.

“The boys put their foot down,” EHS coach Mack Thompson. “We hit some shots and played much better defensively. We started contesting their cuts and screening action.

“To extend that lead back up was awesome,” Thompson added. “Hopefully, we saw some things today that we can look forward to in the future.”

The Hearts kept “their foot down” in the final period. They led by as many as 27 points before settling for the 24-point victory, their first since beating Newton on January 14.

“I’m happy for the kids’ sake,” Thompson admitted. “For me, I want to see growth and I want to see them getting better each game. But for the kids, I’m glad to get this losing skid behind them. This is such a young group. I really want them to taste some of that success.”

It was a 13-0 first-quarter run that gave the Hearts their early lead. And as would be the case throughout, it was their three-point shooting that carried them offensively.

After DeMarcus Moore hit a short jumper, the Redskins were within 5-4 two minutes into the game. But Sullivan didn’t hit another shot the rest of the quarter.

Niebrugge drilled a shot from behind the arc, and Ian Kinkelaar and Pals followed suit to start the surge. Flack and Nolan Fearday then both scored, giving EHS an 18-4 lead, heading into the second period.

That’s when Sullivan’s Camden Watkins came to life. The senior guard connected on a pair of threes and scored 14 of his team’s 17 points, helping the Reskins close to within 28-21 at halftime.

Watkins hit another from behind the arc to get Sullivan to within five, 31-26. That’s when the Hearts regained control of the game and began pulling away for good.

“I’m feeling comfortable with our top five, six, seven guys,” Thompson noted. “Over the last three or four games, when that group has been on the floor, we’re plus double-digits. They’re starting to do things really well together.”

Watkins finished with a game-high 22 points for the Redskins, who dipped to 10-16 overall.

The Hearts had two players in double figures. Pals led the way with 20 points and Traub finished with 18.

The story offensively was the three-point shooting. Effingham shot 47 percent overall, making 24-of-51 attempts. But they were 50 percent from long range, knocking down 15-of-30. Traub was 6-for-10 and Pals was 5-for-9 from behind the arc.

“Things are always better when you’re making shots,” Thompson admitted. “Jenner and Jude got us going. We also got some long rebounds that gave us extra opportunities to score and we took advantage of those several times.”

The Hearts, who improved to 7-22, will wrap up their regular season with two road games next week – Tuesday at Highland and Thursday at Mt. Zion.