Prior to the game, Effingham coach Obie Farmer said his team really needed a win.

Well, they got one and in a big way.

The Hearts used red-hot shooting to grab an early lead and literally dominated throughout, finishing with a convincing 93-38 victory at home Tuesday night over Charleston.

It was never a contest. EHS scored the first 12 points and the rout was on. The lead ballooned to 24-4 after eight minutes and was 54-15 at intermission.

“We shot really well,” Farmer said. “And the shots we didn’t make, Nate (Thompson), Stoney (Jacob Stoneburner) and Brayden (Pals) cleaned up on the boards. Plus, Charleston had a hard time stopping us in transition and it didn’t help them that their shots weren’t falling on the other end.”

The Hearts made 56 percent of their shots, connecting on 35 of 63 attempts overall. They were 13-of-25 from three-point range and 8-of-10 from the foul line. Effingham also held a commanding 43-23 rebounding edge.

The trio of Parker Wolfe, Nate Thompson and Drew Thompson combined to score 78 points. Wolfe, fresh off a 41-point performance Saturday night at Mahomet-Seymour, pumped in 31 against the Trojans. He was 13-for-20 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc.

Nate Thompson made 9-of-13 shots, including 3-of-4 from long range to finished with 24 points, while Drew Thompson knocked down 6-of-12 three-pointers and scored 23. Nate Thompson also pulled down 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double.

Farmer also mentioned the play of Dylan Ritz.

“Dylan was an excellent addition tonight,” the EHS coach noted. “He didn’t score much, but he did other things that made a huge impact on the game. He rebounded, ran in transition, defended well and was relentless the entire time he was in the game. Our entire coaching staff was impressed by his play tonight.”

The Hearts, now 15-9 on the season and 5-4 in the Apollo Conference, will host Lincoln Friday night. The Railsplitters are undefeated in conference play at 9-0 and are 23-2 overall.

The Hearts also won the junior varsity game 59-54. Jett Volpi scored 17 points and Max Woelfer added 13.