The Charleston Trojans knocked down 10 three-pointers and were clutch at the free throw line Thursday night in posting a 73-58 victory at home over the Effingham Hearts.
The Trojans had four players in double figures and went 13-for-15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to expand their lead and secure the win.
Charleston led throughout. It was 14-10 after the first eight minutes and 31-29 at halftime. The Trojans took a 50-43 advantage into the final period and then outscored the Hearts 23-15.
James Hess led the hosts with 17 points, while Will Applegate scored 16, Luke Bonnstetter 15 and Caleb Okaley added 13. Bonnstetter connected on three shots from behind the arc, while Applegate and Hess both had a pair of threes.
Garrett Wolfe had a big game for Effingham, finishing with a game-high 30 points. He had five three-pointers. Logan Heil was also in double figures with 10 points.
The Hearts dipped to 4-7 overall and 3-1 in the Apollo Conference. They will play Saturday at Lincoln.
It was over quick Tuesday night in Effingham.
The Lady Hearts built a 19-point lead after the first period and then held Charleston scoreless over the next two quarters, rolling to a lopsided 66-7 victory.
EHS led 24-5 after the opening eight minutes and heading into the fourth quarter, it was 63-5.
Eleven different Lady Hearts got into the scoring column. Madison Mapes led the way with 16 points and Averie Wolfe was also in double figures, finishing with 10.
The Lady Hearts improved to 8-2 on the season and are now 3-1 in league play.
For EHS coach Jeff Schafer, it was win No. 457 in his coaching career. He is now just one victory away from tying Jim Maxedon for the most wins ever by an Effingham coach. He will have a chance to tie that record Thursday night when the Lady Hearts play host to cross-town rival St. Anthony.
After Effingham’s seasoning-open loss to Breese Central, there were some legitimate concerns.
But since then, the Hearts have proven to be a surprise time and again.
Such was the case again Friday night.
The first half was brutal. Effingham was down 11 points.
But the Hearts then turned in a terrific second half, outscored Mahomet-Seymour 37-17 and came away with a 50-44 win at home over a team that many considered to be a front-runner this year in the Apollo Conference.
“At halftime, I thought we might get beat by 25 points,” EHS coach Obie Farmer admitted. “We couldn’t hit a shot. We had a hard time getting in the gaps and were too passive. It was clear. We needed more toughness.”
His message at halftime was received.
“We stepped up and tightened up our defense,” Farmer said. “Then we started attacking more at the offensive end. That was the difference.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Mt. Vernon has a lot of weapons and they showcased them all Saturday night.
Whether it was Navontae Nesbit driving to the rim, Colin McClure burying shots from the corner or RJ King using his strength and size inside, the Rams proved to be a difficult team to contain at the offensive end.
The Effingham Hearts put up a gallant effort, but in the end, that trio combined to score 58 points and help Mt. Vernon post a 71-60 win at Effingham.
“Our kids played really hard,” EHS coach Obie Farmer noted. “It was frustrating we couldn’t stop them. We did everything we could, but we just had no answer for some of their weapons.”
One thing the Hearts tried was switching from their man-to-man defense to a zone midway through the third quarter. At the time, EHS trailed 39-30.
The move paid instant dividends.
The Rams made just one of their final six shots in the quarter and the Hearts came storming back. Andrew Donaldson knocked down a jumper to start a 7-0 run. Ethan Jones added a free throw and Andrew Splecther converted four more from the foul stripe to get EHS within 39-37 with just 44 seconds left in the period.
“They were scoring a lot by just going to the basket,” Farmer explained. “So, we went to a 2-3 zone and it did what we wanted it to do. We forced them to shoot from the outside. It gave us more defenders inside to help cut off their drive and it helped us rebound better.”
Things appeared to be off to a decent start.
The Effingham Lady Hearts played a solid first quarter and held a slim two-point lead on the road Friday night.
But after scoring 12 points in the opening eight minutes, they managed just 14 more over the next 24 minutes.
“We played good enough defense to win, but we couldn’t make a shot after the first quarter,” said EHS coach Jeff Schafer.
The end result was a 46-26 setback at Mahomet-Seymour in an Apollo Conference contest.
Ella Niebrugge scored six points and Saige Althoff added four more as the Lady Hearts owned a 12-10 lead after the first period. But Effingham scored just 2, 5 and 7 points in the next three quarters.
The Lady Bulldogs took advantage, building leads of 21-14 at halftime and 32-19 after three periods.
Niebrugge was the only Effingham player to reach double figures with 11 points.
The Lady Hearts dipped to 7-2 on the season and are now 2-1 in league play. They will return to action Tuesday night with a home game against Charleston.
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