“That’s pretty impressive,” said EHS coach Obie Farmer. “We really wanted Nate to get his thousand points. That’s something special. It’s great that he’s going to end his career on a high note. It made Senior Night even more special.”
But getting the win was also important and it didn’t come easy, especially over the first three quarters.
The Hearts jumped out to an 8-0 lead and after Thompson made his first three in the last seven games, it was still an eight-point advantage, 11-3. But the Green Wave were within 13-9 at the end of the opening eight minutes, and behind the scoring of Malik Carter-Smith, continued to hang with Effingham.
Thompson had 18 points by halftime and teammate Parker Wolfe had knocked down five from long range and scored 17, but the Hearts were unable to pull away. Carter-Smith drained three shots from behind the arc and scored 17 points in the second period alone.
Thompson scored six straight points at one point, including a breakaway dunk, that gave EHS a seven-point cushion, 22-15, but Carter-Smith was simply unstoppable. His final basket of the period got Mattoon within one, but Parker Wolfe’s fourth three of the period right before the buzzer, sent the Hearts to the locker room with a 39-35 lead at intermission.
“Carter-Smith is a very good player,” Farmer said. “He’s quick, he elevates and he’s got a nice shot. Plus, you also have to be concerned about (Cam’Ron) Thomas and (Sam) Bradbury. They are also nice players and you can’t take everything away.”
But Farmer was not pleased with his team’s overall defensive effort in that second period.
“We really had a lack of defense in that second quarter,” he noted. “I think that’s the most points (26) we’ve given up in a single quarter all year. It was not indicative of the way we play. They have an interesting offense, but we were giving up the baseline and letting them get to the basket much to easy.
“We made some adjustments at halftime and our defense was much better,” Farmer added. “Stonie (Jacob Stoneburner) took away the baseline and we stopped giving up layups. The kids responded very well.”
After Mattoon’s Cooper Bergstrom hit a jumper two minutes into the third period, the Green Wave were still within six points, 44-38.
But Thompson then scored Effingham’s next seven points, including the put-back at the 2:26 mark, that gave the Hearts their first double-digit lead, 51-41, and also secured Thompson’s spot in the 1,000-Point Club.
The Green Wave got back within seven, but Parker Wolfe hit a three and then added a pair of free throws to send EHS into the final eight minutes with a 56-44 cushion.
It was a seven-point spread 90 seconds into the fourth period when the Hearts took total control. Thompson then scored seven points, including a dunk after a behind-the-back assist pass from Parker Wolfe, while Garrett Wolfe scored four points and Parker Wolfe added another bucket, completing the 13-1 run that increased Effingham’s lead to 71-48 with 3:54 left.
In addition to Thompson’s incredible double-double, Parker Wolfe also had a big night, pumping in 29 points, with 21 of those coming off seven three-pointers.
“When Nate hit that three-pointer in the first quarter, we knew he was ready to go,” Farmer said. “Plus, he was rebounding like crazy. That’s probably a game he will always remember.”
Carter-Smith finished with 28 points, while Thomas scored 19 and Bergstrom added 11 for the Green Wave. Bradbury was limited to just three points, which according to Farmer was due to the defensive effort of Stoneburner.
“I don’t think Mattoon gets enough credit,” Farmer said. “They have some very good players. They have all the pieces to be very good.”
The Hearts shot 41 percent overall, connecting on 24-of-58 shots. They were 9-for-28 from behind the arc and 21-for-29 from the foul line. They also held a commanding 32-17 rebounding edge.
The Hearts, who are ranked No. 9 in this week’s Class 3A Poll, improved to 16-1 overall. They have also clinched the Apollo Conference championship and now stand at 10-1 in league play. They will play their season and conference finale today (Saturday) at home against Charleston, which was rescheduled from earlier in the season due to COVID concerns in Charleston. Tip-off will be at approximately 2:30 p.m.
The Hearts just beat the Trojans 77-40 on Tuesday, but Farmer isn’t taking anything for granted.
“They have some weapons and they’ll want some payback,” Farmer said. “We just want to win every game. We also wanted to win the Apollo Conference and we’d like to stay in the top 10 in the AP Poll. We have to beat Charleston in order to do that.”
