Effingham Coach Obie Farmer was happy to get the win, but wasn’t pleased with the turnovers in the final period.
“Against Lincoln’s pressure, we only had 14 turnovers, but we had 13 tonight, with most of them in the fourth quarter, against Newton’s token man-to-man,” Farmer said. “We had a lack of energy and didn’t play with much attention to detail. Fortunately, we had the athletes to overcome that. We needed to slow down, run our offense and look for better shots.”
Early on, it didn’t appear the Hearts would have anything to worry about in the final minutes. For the second game in a row, Wolfe came out red hot and helped stake EHS to an early lead.
Friday night, the junior guard went 6-for-6 from behind the arc and scored 18 points in the first quarter, helping the Hearts post a 79-60 win at Charleston. Saturday afternoon, he connected on three shots from long range and tallied 11 first-quarter points, and EHS held a 23-10 lead after the opening eight minutes.
It was Drew Thompson’s turn in the second period. He drilled a trio of 3-pointers. The third one gave the Hearts their first 18-point lead at 37-19. They also led 38-20 and 40-22 before the Eagles went on a 9-2 surge to end the half and get within 42-31.
“Newton is a good basketball team,” Farmer noted. “They play hard and there’s no quit in them. They set a lot of screens and get the ball to their shooters. And they hit shots; a lot of shots. They did some really good things today.”
The Hearts led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but a three-point play by Seth Weber and a 3-pointer from Kyle Schafer narrowed the gap to five, 50-45. Wolfe then hit a three and Nate Thompson added a free throw, sending EHS to the final quarter with a 54-45 edge.
The Hearts were playing on back-to-back days and Farmer said that might have been a factor in the team’s overall play.
“But everybody has to do that,” he noted. “We didn’t have much time to scout Newton or prepare for them. But we have to get used to that. We’re going to play four games in three days in the Christmas tournament and we could play on back-to-back nights in the regional. So we have to be ready to play.”
Drew Thompson and Wolfe both had outstanding offensive games. In fact, their line score was almost identical. Both made five 3-pointers and four two-point field goals. Thompson made six free throws to finish with a game-high 29 points, while Wolfe connected on five foul shots and scored 28.
“They both shot well, were aggressive attacking the basket and made their free throws,” Farmer said. “They excelled in just about every facet of the game today and both were huge factors. And we can’t forget Nate (Thompson). He pulled down rebounds (8) and guarded No. 22.”
That was Newton’s Kyle Schafer. Thompson took over guarding Schafer in the second half. Schafer ended with 21 points, but had just six after halftime.
The Hearts shot very well, making 24-of-42 overall shots, a 57 percent clip. They were equally as deadly from long range, making 11-of-19 from behind the arc. After converting just 5-of-11 free throws in the first three quarters, EHS went 9-for-10 in the final eight minutes. The Hearts also had a 24-15 rebounding advantage.
The Hearts will be off until playing in the Effingham/Teutopolis Christmas Classic, which begins Thursday.
“I’m giving the kids a bit of a break,” Farmer said. “Some of these kids haven’t had one since August. I just want them to relax a little. We’ve been going at it pretty hard since the beginning.”
The Hearts, who improved to 7-2 overall, will open holiday tournament play against Sacred Heart Griffin. That game is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday. They will play two more games Friday and another Saturday.
