After Wolfe went out, Brayden Pals had a similar incident and left the game, and Tate Niebrugge injured an ankle and was also forced out of the contest for a period of time.

“We may be the luckiest program in the nation to have health professionals in the stands,” Farmer noted. “Dr. (Justin) Pals adjusted Brayden and Parker in the locker room and also worked on Tate’s ankle. Dr. Pals was the MVP of the game.”

Mattoon eventually grabbed a three-point lead, but Effingham put together a strong performance down the stretch to regain the lead and then pull away. Nate Thompson had a pair of three-point plays and Wolfe hit his seventh and final 3-pointer. But it was a pair of shots from behind the arc from Max Woelfer that really sparked the team and helped the Hearts post the victory.

“Max came off the bench due to the injuries and hit some big shots for us,” Farmer said. “He really came through.”

Wolfe finished with a game-high 24 points, while Nate Thompson scored 14 and Woelfer added 10. It was another double-double performance for Thompson, who also pulled down 10 rebounds.

“We played a pretty solid game,” Farmer said. “I was impressed with how smart we played. I told the boys it was probably the smartest game we have had this year. We found the open guy and made the correct passes to move the defense. We did an excellent job attacking them.

“We talk about how basketball is like a chess match,” Farmer added. “You have to use your movements and passes to move the defense. You want to move the defense to give you the best opportunity to attack, just like chess. The kids really took hold of that. We put their guys where we wanted them and made it a bit easier on us.”

The Hearts improved to 17-11 overall and 6-5 in the Apollo. They will return to action Tuesday at Marion and then close out the regular season at home Friday against Taylorville.