The Effingham freshman and sophomore basketball teams played Thursday night at Salem and split the two games.

The EHS frosh dropped a 64-53 decision, while the Hearts sophomores posted a 53-41 victory.

In the sophomore contest, the Hearts raced to a 24-10 lead after eight minutes. Jett Volpi hit three shots from behind the arc and scored 11 points in the opening period, helping EHS gain the early lead. Volpi finished with 14 points to lead Effingham’s scoring attack.

In the freshman game, Salem led 15-7 after the first period and extended the lead to 31-14 at halftime. Andrew Donaldson and Armando Estrada both scored nine points for the Hearts.