A three-pointer by Craig Croy gave the Bulldogs their only lead of the game, 5-3. Effingham’s Parker Wolfe hit a three-pointer and scored seven points and teammate Nate Thompson added six, including a dunk at the end of the period to give the Hearts an 18-9 edge after the opening eight minutes.

Then the back-and-forth kicked into gear.

A three-point play by Thompson gave EHS its first double-digit lead, 21-9. But St. Anthony’s Kennan Walsh then got involved. The senior guard drilled a trio of shots from long range. The third came at the 2:39 mark, followed by a bucket by Logan Antrim just 17 seconds later that got the Bulldogs to within 25-22.

Just when it seemed like the momentum was on St. Anthony’s side, Jacob Stoneburner hit a short jumper and Parker Wolfe rattled off seven straight points – hitting a three and then converting back-to-back Bulldog turnovers into layups.

At intermission, Effingham headed to the locker room with a 36-25 advantage.

“I thought we played with passion and energy and we didn’t play scared,” Rincker said. “But their points off our turnovers, plus rebounding and free throw shooting were telling stats. Our competitive edge was there and I’m really proud of that. We just ran out of steam.”

But not immediately. The Bulldogs made one more run.

The lead fluctuated between 10 and 13 points until Antrim scored back-to-back buckets and Seth Hotze added a short jumper to get the Bulldogs within 47-39. But Parker Wolfe had a basket and a pair of free throws and Thompson added a bucket to help the Hearts take a 53-41 lead into the final eight minutes.

The Bulldogs were unable to get any closer than 12 points the rest of the way, the final time being 65-53. Stoneburner had eight points in that fourth period to help the Hearts secure the victory.

“I was worried about this game,” Farmer admitted. “I was worried about Antrim getting to the basket and then dumping off to their bigs. I was worried about the offense they would run and what defense they would throw at us. Heck, I was just worried.

“St. Anthony is a good ball club,” Farmer added. “There’s no quit in them. They’re well-coached and always play with 110 percent effort.”

For the Bulldogs, Walsh had his best offensive performance, turning in a career-high 19 points, while Antrim added 18. They shot 45 percent from the floor, making 22-of-49 shots overall. They were 6-for-22 from long range and 4-for-10 from the foul line. Hotze led the team with eight rebounds. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 19 times.

“We got better tonight,” Rincker said. “They exploited a few of our weaknesses, but I’m super proud of our effort. We’ll take this loss, get better and move on.”

The Hearts were led by their 1-2 punch – Parker Wolfe and Nate Thompson. Wolfe had 29 points and Thompson added 21 more. Stoneburner reached double figures as well, finishing with 12 points and also grabbed eight rebounds.

Effingham had a good shooting game, making 27-of-49 attempts, a hot 55 percent. The Hearts were 7-for-21 from behind the arc and 14-of-18 from the free throw line.

“I would give our play an A-minus tonight,” Farmer said. “We did some good stuff. We also brought effort and energy the whole game. I’m proud of our performance. These rivalry games are tough.”

St. Anthony, now 4-2 overall, will play three games this week – Tuesday at South Central; Friday at home against Windsor/Stew-Straws; and Saturday at Flora. South Central and WSS are National Trail Conference contests. The Bulldogs are 2-0 in the league.

The Hearts remained undefeated and stand at 9-0. They will put their 6-0 Apollo Conference record on No. 10 ranking in the Class 3A poll on the line three times this week – all at home. They will host Taylorville on Tuesday; Mahomet-Seymour on Friday; and Mt. Zion on Saturday.