The game went back-and-forth in the first half. The Rams owned an early five point lead, the Hearts came back to lead by four and Mt. Vernon owned an 18-14 advantage after the first period.

The second quarter was basically a replay of the first. The teams took turns taking the lead from each other. Mt. Vernon open a four-point spread late, but four free throws by Drew Thompson in the final 34 seconds sent the two teams to the locker room in a 29-29 deadlock at intermission.

It looked like the Rams would take control after halftime, however. Their 6’6” junior Quani Rudd, who finished with 21 points, scored five points, including a shot from long range, staking Mt. Vernon to its largest lead, 42-33, at the 3:18 mark of the third quarter.’

“They hit a couple shots and expanded their lead,” Farmer noted. “But our philosophy is to just keep playing. No matter what happens, just keep playing. We knew they were going to hit some shots, but our kids are mentally tough. That’s what allowed us to get back in the game.”

Tate Niebrugge hit a pair of free throws that started a 6-0 run. Parker Wolfe added a 3-pointer, bringing the Hearts to within 45-42 heading into the final eight minutes.

“I thought Mt. Vernon was a little more passive on offense than I thought they would be,” Farmer said. “That played out in our favor. They’re just so quick and big. If they kept going to the basket, I don’t know that we could have stopped them.”

But the Rams still owned a 51-45 advantage with 5:19 to go when Effingham started its decisive surge.

Wolfe connected on his first of three from behind the arc. Nate Thompson and Drew Thompson then made back-to-back threes and Drew Thompson added another short jumper to complete the 11-2 run and put the Hearts on top 56-53.

A jumper by Wolfe, followed by two more 3-pointers from the junior point guard, bolted the Hearts into their largest lead of the contest, 64-55, with 1:11 left.

A technical foul gave Mt. Vernon a chance to get back in the game. That resulted in a five-point possession, but it could have been seven had all the free throws been made. A 3-pointer by Simon Wilson capped the possession and closed the gap to 64-60 with 59 seconds still showing.

But Wolfe, Drew Thompson and Brayden Pals each made a pair of foul shots down the stretch to secure the win and set up a rematch with the Wooden Shoes.

“We’ll talk about that technical,” Farmer said. “Basketball is an emotional game. Late in the game, both teams were battling back and forth and the emotions were high. It definitely game them a chance to get back in it and it could have been worse. We will need to learn from this.”

Wolfe finished with a game-high 23 points, with 13 of those coming in the final period. Drew Thompson scored 21; Nate Thompson, who battled foul problems for much of the game, added 12; and Pals chipped in with 10.

“Let me tell you about Parker,” Farmer said. “We were up three and I called a timeout with about a minute and half left. I told the guys to relax. I reminded them we didn’t have to score. So what does Parker do? He steps back and hits a three. It was a dagger.”

The Hearts improved to 13-6 on the season, while Mt. Vernon dipped to 14-5.

“It was a bit of a grind for us on offense, but the kids battled their butts off on defense,” Farmer said. “This was a huge win for us.”