By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
In virtually every basketball game, there is a scoring run at some points that generally determines the winner.
That was the case Tuesday in Dieterich and that spurt started just four minutes into the game.
The Movin’ Maroons held a slim 6-4 lead. But that was followed by a 15-0 scoring run that put the Effingham Hearts up by double digits.
And the lead was never less than 10 points again.
The Hearts built a sizeable halftime cushion and then rolled to a 60-43 win on the road.
Dalton Fox started the decisive run with a short jumper. Garrett Wolfe then knocked down a three, Jett Volpi made a pair of foul shots and Ethan Ritz and Brayden Pals scored on back-to-back possessions. Wolfe and Ritz then hit two more shots to put the Hearts up 19-6.
Dieterich’s Bryce Budde made his team’s third three-pointer of the quarter, but Fox hit from long range at the buzzer that not only gave EHS a 22-9 lead, but started an 11-0 run that carried over the first three minutes of the second period.
Wolfe and Volpi both connected from behind the arc and Ritz added another jumper to extend the margin to 21 points, 30-9, at the five-minute mark. By halftime, the Hearts owned a comfortable 37-13 advantage.
The Effingham Lady Hearts had a good first day at the Vandalia Mid-Winter Girls Basketball Tournament.
The Lady Hearts posted a pair of victories Monday, beating Centralia 52-32 and following that with a 61-38 win over Vandalia.
Effingham will return to action Wednesday in the round robin tourney. They will play Greenville at 6 p.m.
The Lady Hearts outscored Centralia 29-11 in the middle two quarters to pull away. EHS held a slim 11-9 lead after the opening quarter. Meredith Schaefer then connected on a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points in the second quarter, helping Effingham take a 29-18 lead at halftime.
It was Sawyer Althoff’s turn in the third period. The senior guard scored eight points, as the Lady Hearts built a 40-20 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Sawyer finished with 15 points and Schaefer added 14 for EHS to lead the scoring attack.
Effingham followed a similar pattern against Vandalia. The Lady Hearts outscored the Lady Vandals 37-20 in the middle two quarters to build a 50-28 advantage.
Althoff had 10 points during that 16-minute stretch and Madison Mapes scored nine in the third period to spark the 25-12 scoring spree.
Althoff led the Lady Hearts with 10 points, while Mapes, Ella Niebrugge, Schaefer and Sidney Donaldson all scored nine.
The Lady Hearts improved to 14-6 on the season.
Katelyn Middleton scored 12 first-quarter points, helping the Paris Lady Tigers build an early lead – a lead they maintained throughout, en route to a 55-44 win at home Thursday over the Effingham Lady Hearts.
Middleton knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the opening eight minutes, as Paris took an 18-13 lead. The Lady Tigers then were on top 30-23 at halftime and 41-32 heading into the final period.
Effingham got within three on two occasions in the fourth quarter, but no closer. Madyson Rigdon scored 7 of her 13 points in that final period, helping the Lady Tigers improve to 17-3 on the season. Middleton finished with a game-high 19 points.
Ella Niebrugge led the Lady Hearts with 11 points, while Sawyer Althoff and Meredith Schaefer both scored 8.
The Lady Hearts dipped to 12-6 on the season. They will compete in the Vandalia Mid-Winter Tournament next week. They will play two games Monday – against Centralia at 10 a.m. and against Vandalia at 1 p.m.
The season record against Taylorville will show 0-2.
But Obie Famer and the Effingham Hearts will tell you they should have won both games.
After falling 53-46 in double overtime just 23 days ago, the Hearts had a good chance to gain some revenge Thursday night.
But they turned the ball over twice in the final 10 seconds and Bryce Friedrich hit a layup with eight seconds to play, giving the Tornadoes a 36-34 victory at home.
“We had the ball with 30 seconds left,” Farmer said. “We wanted to get the last shot, but we turned it over.”
After a timeout, Taylorville set up a play that produced the winning basket.
“They had a kid on the block that ran to the ball, then threw on the brakes and ran back to the basket,” Farmer explained. “They threw it over our heads for a layup. We had the ball and went the length of the court pretty well, but then we turned the ball over again.”
As was the case in the first game, it was close throughout. The Hearts knocked down four three-pointers in the first quarter and built a 16-7 lead. But Taylorville got back to within 20-18 at halftime and the score was tied 26-26 heading into the final eight minutes.
Friedrich led all scorers with 12 points, while Brayden Pals cracked double figures for the Hearts with 10.
The Hearts are now 6-12 overall and 1-5 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action Tuesday with a game at Dieterich.
The Effingham Hearts will compete in the 70th annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.
The tournament will begin on Wednesday, Jan. 19, with games also played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20-22.
There are eight teams in this year’s field – Champaign Central, East St. Louis, Carbondale, Salem, Effingham, Madison, Mt. Vernon and Thornton Fractional North.
The Hearts will face Madison at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20. It they win, they will play at 8 p.m. Friday. If they lose, they will return to action at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Here is the schedule of opening-round games:
Wednesday, Jan. 19
6:30 p.m. – Champaign Central vs. East St. Louis
8 p.m. – Carbondale vs. Salem
Thursday, Jan. 20
6:30 p.m. – Effingham vs. Madison
8 p.m. – Mt. Vernon vs. Thornton Fractional North
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