Thompson had a basket, followed by a three-point play, and Wolfe added another score, completing a 14-0 run that began in the first period and expanded the margin to 24-3 just a minute into the second period.

By halftime, Thompson had netted 19 points, Wolfe had 11 more and Pals had drained another from behind the arc. As the teams headed to the locker room, the Hearts were comfortably ahead, 43-23.

The Eagles never got closer than 19 points the rest of the way. The Hearts continued to play hard throughout the second half and led by as many as 30 points late in the final quarter.

Thompson finished with an impressive double-double – racking up 30 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. He became the third Heart to crack the 30-point plateau this season, joining Drew Thompson and Wolfe.

“Nate had a great game,” Farmer said. “We talked in the off-season about what it was going to take for him to be successful and help this team. And he has responded. I love hearing him and Stoney (Jacob Stoneburner) talking about who is going to get the most rebounds. They take pride in cleaning up the glass.”

Wolfe scored 22 and Pals, just a sophomore, cracked double figures for the first time in his varsity career, finishing with 15.

“This was a breakout game for Brayden,” Farmer noted. “For a role player to come off the bench and have 15 points, that was huge for us. He did some good things out there. It was a heckuva job and I’m really proud of him.”

The Hearts shot 46 percent from the field, connecting on 26-of-56 shots overall. They were 6-for-15 from long range and 18-of-25 from the foul line. Stoneburner grabbed eight rebounds and helped EHS to a 39-16 edge on the boards.

“Before the season, we talked about wanting to be at least 2-2 in this tournament,” Farmer said. “We did drop two, but the way we finished today gives me a lot of hope about this team as we move forward.”

The Hearts are now 9-4 on the season. They will return to action Friday at home against Teutopolis. It was the game originally scheduled for December 17, but was cancelled due to snow.