By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

With six minutes left to play in the game, the Effingham Hearts owned a 12-point lead.

That’s when Hearts fan probably got nervous. And understandably so.

On more than one occasion this season, Effingham has let fourth quarter leads slip away.

But not Saturday.

Garrett Wolfe hit a jumper and Andrew Donaldson knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game to quickly expand the margin back to 17 points.

The Hearts then closed the game on a 10-0 run to secure a 66-44 win over Jerseyville in the fourth game of the Wooden Shoes Shootout, played at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium in Teutopolis.

“The difference today was we executed,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “We valued the ball, we rebounded and our defense kept their players in front of us. We checked all the boxes. When we do those things, we’re going to be successful.”

The Hearts never trailed in the game. Donaldson connected on his first two shots from behind the arc less than 90 seconds into the contest. The second one gave Effingham a 6-3 lead – a lead it never relinquished.

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For the fourth time this season, the overtime period was unkind to the Effingham Hearts.

Charleston made 11-of-16 free throws and outscored the Hearts 18-10 in the extra session to come away with a 69-61 win Tuesday night at EHS.

The Trojans will now be added to the list that includes Mascoutah, Pleasant Plains and Champaign Central as teams Effingham has lost in OT to.

Charleston jumped out to a 20-8 lead after the opening eight minutes, but the Hearts then went on a 19-6 scoring run in the second period to take a 27-26 edge to the locker room at halftime. Andrew Splechter scored eight points in that quarter.

Effingham was still on top, 38-36, heading into the final quarter.

Splechter scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Hearts. Garrett Wolfe and Donaldson were also in double figures, finishing with 14 and 12 points respectively.

The Hearts dipped to 10-18 overall and are now 4-6 in the Apollo Conference. They have two more games this week. They will be at home Friday night against Lincoln and then play in the Wooden Shoes Shootout in Teutopolis on Saturday. They will face Jerseyville at 3:30 p.m.

The Effingham Lady Hearts rebounded from an early double-digit deficit and then used a big third quarter to surge ahead, en route to a 53-33 victory Wednesday night at Olney (Richland County).

The host Lady Tigers built a 22-11 lead midway through the second period. The Lady Hearts got three-pointers from Bria Beals and Averie Wolfe to get within 26-22 at halftime and then exploded in the third quarter.

Madison Mapes connected on three shots from behind the arc to spark a 19-4 scoring surge. Ella Niebrugge also had a three, as EHS built a 41-30 lead heading into the final eight minutes. The Lady Hearts continued to pull further ahead down the stretch, finishing with a 31-7 scoring advantage in the second half and a 20-point win.

Mapes finished with five three-pointers and a game-high 20 points. Alyssa Martin and Niebrugge both added seven.

The Lady Hearts improved to 19-10 on the season. They will be back in action tonight (Thursday) with a home game against Mt. Zion.

Mahomet-Seymour built a double-digit lead at halftime and then pulled away in the fourth quarter, posting a 61-44 Apollo Conference win at home Saturday night over Effingham.

Andrew Donaldson connected on a pair of three-pointers in the opening quarter, helping the Hearts stay within 12-10. But the host Bulldogs outscored Effingham 21-13 in the second period to take a 10-point cushion, 33-23, to the locker room at halftime.

It was still a 10-point margin heading into the final eight minutes, but Mahomet-Seymour outscored the Hearts 16-9 down the stretch to secure the win.

Andrew Splechter led EHS with a game-high 14 points and Logan Heil was also in double figures with 10.

The Hearts dipped to 10-17 overall and our now 4-5 in the Apollo Conference. The Hearts will play at home tonight (Tuesday) against Charleston.