By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Obie Farmer was all smiles Saturday night.

And why not?

His Effingham Hearts had just accomplished what few – including himself – was not anticipating.

The Hearts, who blew out Thornton Fractional North earlier in the day, came back and defeated Champaign Central, 48-41, to claim the consolation championship of the 70^th annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.

“If someone told me we would come here and win two games against this type of competition, I don’t know if I would have believed them,” Farmer admitted. “But these kids deserve it. They worked their tails off and I am very proud of them.”

It came down to executing down the stretch, an aspect of the game the Hearts have struggled with several times this season. But not Saturday night.

Garrett Wolfe knocked down a big three, Logan Heil scored four points and Andrew Spelchter came off the bench to hit two late clutch buckets, helping the Hearts secure the victory.

The Maroons jumped out to a 13-10 lead after the opening eight minutes and still held a slim 19-18 edge at intermission.

But the Hearts came out of the locker room and went on a 10-3 run to build a six-point advantage, 28-22. Champaign Central scored five straight points to tie the game at 30-30, but Wolfe drilled a three at the buzzer, sending EHS into the final period with a 33-30 edge.

Freshman Chris Bush scored for the Maroons to open the fourth period to get within one, but they never were able to tie the game or take the lead. Again, it was Wolfe – who had led all scorers with 18 points and tallied 48 points in the two games Saturday – that hit from long range, followed by a basket by Heil to make it 38-32.

After Bush connected on a three for Champaign Central, Heil and Jett Volpi scored back-to-back buckets to expand the margin to seven points, 42-35, at the 4:17 mark.

After the Maroons got within five, Splechter scored on consecutive possessions to give EHS its largest lead of the game, 46-38. Dwayne Hubbard made a three to get Champaign Central within 46-41 with 2:02 to play, but the Maroons were unable to score again.

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Ask Obie Farmer and he’ll tell you that his basketball team has had difficulty playing with the lead this season.

Add Thursday night’s game to the list of examples.

The Effingham Hearts led by double digits in both the first and second quarters. But as missed shots and turnovers started to pile up, the lead began to dwindle.

The Madison Trojans used a 13-0 run that started in the second quarter and a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away and post a 52-44 victory over the Hearts in an opening-round game of the 70^th annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.

Garrett Wolfe knocked down a pair of three-pointers to stake EHS to its first lead at 6-3. Jett Volpi then scored on back-to-back possessions to kick off a 10-0 scoring spree. Brayden Pals added a free throw, followed by baskets by Wolfe and Ethan Ritz to give the Hearts their first double-digit advantage, 16-6, late in the opening period.

Madison got within five, 16-11, but Wolfe and Volpi connected on threes to give Effingham an 11-point bulge, 22-11, midway through the second period.

At that point, the Trojans switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense and the game changed. The Hearts turned the ball over eight times in the final four minutes and failed to hit another shot. By intermission, Madison was within 22-20.

The Trojans got the first two buckets of the second half to complete the 13-0 run. Wolfe hit a three to put the Hearts back on top, 25-24, but Madison got a bucket and three-pointer from Derrion Enlow and a three-point play from Eric Hurst.

Over the eight-minute stretch that began in the middle of the second period, Madison outscored EHS 21-3 and led 32-25 midway through the third quarter.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Thornton Fractional North’s offensive strength is its ability to get to the lane and drive to the basket.

The Meteors were poised and ready to attack Effingham’s man-to-man defense – the defense the Hearts virtually always play.

Instead, they were greeted with a “Saturday Surprise.”

TFN was caught completely off-guard and unprepared when EHS came out in a 2-3 zone that was packed in tight.

The Meteors never did solve it and shot poorly the entire game.

That defense, plus a career-high performance by Garrett Wolfe, helped the Hearts roll to a 65-38 victory Saturday afternoon over Thornton Fractional North and earn a berth in the consolation championship of the 70^th annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.

“I talked to a couple coaches that played them, plus we watched some film on them,” EHS coach Obie Farmer explained. “They are really good at getting to the basket, but struggle from the outside. So, we packed it in.

“It they hit 9 or 10 three-pointers, they were going to win,” Farmer added. “But we were going to take away their biggest asset, which is getting to the basket. It worked. We packed it in so tight there was nowhere for them to go.”

It was obvious from the very beginning the Meteors had no idea how to attack that zone. They went 0-for-6 from three-point range and made just one of their first eight shots overall and the Hearts took advantage. Wolfe started his 30-point night with a short jumper and a three, helping EHS build an 11-5 edge after the opening eight minutes.

That gap continued to widen in the second period. Logan Heil, who got his first start in place of Brayden Pals, who fractured a thumb in Wednesday night’s game against Madison, scored six points, Wolfe added six more and Quest Hull came off the bench to hit four free throws.

When the teams headed to the locker room, the Hearts owned a 29-16 advantage.

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By Steve Raymond

ER Sports Report

Defense travels.

And Jeff Schafer is glad.

The Effingham Lady Hearts struggled mightily at the offensive end Wednesday night, but their defense was stellar. They fell behind early, but managed to hit enough shots to pull out a 38-24 win over Greenville in their third game of the Vandalia Mid-Winter Girls Basketball Tournament.

“Thankfully, our defense played a full 32 minutes,” Schafer said. “When you hold a team to 24 points, that’s really good. It gave us a chance to win. But I doubt we’ll win another game this year if we play like that again offensively.”

The first quarter was brutal for the Lady Hearts at the offensive end. They missed all six of their three-point attempts and made just 1-of-14 shots overall – that being a short jumper by Marissa Allie nearly 2½ minutes into the game that actually gave EHS a 2-0 lead.

By the end of the first eight minutes, Effingham trailed the Lady Comets 9-3.

“Normally, I’m proud of our girls for being smart basketball players,” Schafer noted. “But tonight, they didn’t play like that. We were going to the wrong spots on offense and we weren’t taking care of the ball. It was clear that we weren’t ready to play. There was no energy whatsoever.”

Fortunately, the Lady Comets were not flourishing on offense either. They missed all four of their shots in the second period and turned the ball over seven times. That resulted in being blanked for the entire quarter. The Lady Hearts still only made 3-of-10 shots, but it was enough to claim an 11-9 edge at intermission.

“It seemed like they were on 9 for a long time,” Shafer said. “Greenville plays hard, but we finally made a few shots and got some separation.”

But not until the third quarter.

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