It was a mismatch from the opening moments. Vandalia quickly turned the ball over three times and just three minutes into the contest, the Hearts were on top 10-0. By the end of the opening eight minutes, Thompson had nine points, Parker Wolfe seven and Effingham was in command, 20-5.

“We didn’t put any pressure on the kids,” Farmer noted. “We just let them play basketball. We weren’t really sure how Vandalia would stack up against teams we’re going to face in the Apollo. We just wanted them to go out and play. Now we can evaluate our performance and make some adjustments.”

The margin just kept getting wider during the second quarter. After Vandalia’s Mitchell Casey hit a jumper to trim the lead to 25-11, the Hearts exploded. Thompson scored 10 points and Parker Wolfe and Brayden Pals both buried threes, helping EHS go on a 16-0 scoring spree and open a 41-11 bulge.

At intermission, the hosts owned a comfortable 47-16 advantage.

“Our kids are capable of scoring quickly. It’s in their DNA,” Farmer explained. “We can attack, but we can also pull it out and work for a good shot if we need to. I prefer we score efficiently. Today, we just got a lot of good looks quickly.”

The two teams played on more even terms in the third quarter, but EHS was still in command, 67-35. Then in the final eight minutes, the Hearts, playing mostly reserves, went on a 20-5 surge to finish with the 49-point victory.

Thompson and Parker Wolfe were outstanding. Thompson pumped in 31 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Wolfe added 26 points and hauled in 11 boards.

“Nate is a real match-up problem for teams,” Farmer said. “He can hit the three-pointer or a mid-range jumper. If you put a big on him, Nate is too quick and can go around him. And you can’t put a guard on him because Nate is too strong. I thought he had a real efficient game today. I’ll take 30 points and 10 rebounds any time.”

The Hearts shot 52 percent overall, connecting on 33-of-64 attempts. They were 10-of-28 from behind the arc and 11-for-14 from the free throw line. Farmer was able to play 15 kids and 10 of them got into the scoring column. They also owned a whopping 40-19 rebounding edge.

“We want 30 rebounds a game from our three big guys (Thompson, Pals and Jacob Stoneburner),” Farmer said. “Then whatever we get from Parker and Garrett (Wolfe) is icing on the cake. Plus, our three bigs can also handle the ball, pass the ball and shoot it pretty well.”

Vandalia got 14 points from Case Goldsmith. The Vandals shot just 29 percent, making 15-of-52 attempts. They were 3-for-12 from long range and 7-of-14 from the foul stripe. They also turned the ball over 21 times.

“Overall, I thought we played okay,” Farmer noted. “Offensively, we got some good shots, although there were times we needed to slow it down a little. And defensively, we need to get back better. We can’t fall into bad habits just because we have a big lead. We have to value the basketball and play solid defense. We have to play every possession like the game matters.”

The Hearts will play their next two games on the road against Apollo Conference teams – Tuesday at Mattoon and Friday at Taylorville. As of right now, Vandalia is the only non-conference game on the schedule.