Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Once again, the Effingham Hearts let one get away.

Once again, it was costly turnovers and the inability to score that made the difference.

The Hearts had two turnovers down the stretch and failed to score in the final 3½ minutes.

That, plus a big three-pointer from Dawson Brown, allowed the Olney Tigers to remain undefeated and escape Effingham High School with a 41-37 win Tuesday night.

“Almost every game, we’re right there,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “It feels like we’re always the bridesmaid and never the bride. We keep competing hard, but we just can’t finish. It seems to come down to one or two possessions.”

The Hearts led the entire first half, but found themselves trailing by six points, 36-30, just 90 seconds into the fourth period. But Ethan Ritz connected on his third three-pointer, Armando Estrada turned an Olney turnover into a bucket and Garrett Wolfe hit a short jumper in the lane to put the Hearts back on top, 37-36, with 3:31 still to play.

About a minute later, however, Brown drilled a three from the corner – his only shot of the entire game – and the Tigers had a lead they never relinquished.

Effingham had only three shots the rest of the way. Olne’sy Chase Travis made a free throw at the 1:04 mark to make it a three-point spread, 40-37.

Fifteen players were selected to the 8^th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic All-Tournament Team.

Local boys named were Garrett Wolfe, of Effingham; Caleb Siemer, of Teutopolis; and Kyle Stewart, of St. Anthony.

Others selected included Jerret Moore and Anthony Vaval, from tourney champion Chicago Brooks; Tylon Tolliver and George Bellevue, from tourney runner-up Lincoln-Way East; John McGowan and Davion Lawrence, from Oak Lawn; Evan Schafer and Ben Meinhart, from Newton; Zach Powell, from Pleasant Plains; David Hise, from Knoxville; David Hubbard, from Champaign Centennial; and Jacob Gaither, from Dixon.

For the second time in two days, the Effingham Hearts survived a two-point game.

Wednesday night, the Hearts rallied from a halftime deficit and managed to make enough free throws down the stretch to hang on for a 48-46 win over Knoxville.

The Hearts, now 2-1 in tourney play, will face Cross Creek rival Teutopolis in the fifth place game today (Thursday). That game is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Effingham High School.

EHS led 13-9 after the opening eight minutes, but the Blue Bullets responded by outscoring the hosts 12-5 to take a 21-18 advantage at halftime. The Hearts held a slim 34-33 lead heading into the final quarter.

“This was a tough game, but the kids just kept playing,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “The game just kept going back-and-forth. We got up by four late and did enough good things to get the win.

“We didn’t play very well in the first half,” Farmer added. “But we played with more energy in the second half. We made some adjustments and the kids stepped up and got the job done.”

Jett Volpi and Garrett Wolfe both knocked down three shots from long range and led the Hearts in scoring. Volpi finished with 19 points and Wolfe added 14. Armando Estrada also reached double figures with 12 points.

“Armando gave us some great minutes,” Farmer noted. “Anytime you get that kind of production off the bench it’s a huge lift. He really played well.”

David Hise led Knoxville with 19 points.

The Hearts, who improved to 4-9, will now face Teutopolis for the second time this season. The Shoes posted a 46-37 win just a couple weeks ago.

“I hope our kids are as confident as I am,” Farmer said. “I’m glad to have another opportunity to play them.”

It was a fitting conclusion to the George Montgomery era in Effingham.

The former Fighting Illini standout and basketball coach at Chicago Brooks has announced his retirement. So his final trip south was a memorable one, as he guided his talented Eagles squad to the championship of the 8^th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.

Brooks led by double digits on numerous occasions, but had to play to the end, finishing with a 53-46 victory Thursday night over Lincoln-Way East, the defending tournament champs.

Many will remember Montgomery from his playing days in Champaign from 1981-1985. He was recognized by the tournament committee prior to the championship contest and thanked everyone associated with the tournament for their kindness and support in the six years Brooks has participated.

It appeared it might be an easy game midway through the second period. Three-pointers by Anthony Vaval, Kendall Larry and Ryan Little had the Eagles on top, 28-13, with about three minutes left. But the Griffins closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to get within 28-21.

A basket by Kyle Olabegi got LWE within five to open the second half, but back-to-back threes by Olitimi Taiwo and Vaval, got the lead back to double digits, 34-23. The Griffins were within nine, 41-32, heading into the final eight minutes.

Three pointers by Jerrett Moore and Vaval provided Brooks a pair of 12-point leads, but a three-point play by Olabegi, a short jumper by Mac Hagemaster and a basket by George Bellevue after grabbing an offensive rebound, trimmed the margin to eight, 47-39, with 4:56 left in the game.

A jumper by Tylon Toliver and a three from Kaiden Ross got the Griffins within five, 51-46, but there was only 19 seconds remaining. A pair of foul shots 10 seconds later by Larry sealed the win and the tournament championship.

As they did throughout the tournament, the Eagles relied heavily on their three-point shooting. They had 20 total baskets in the final game; nine of them came from behind the arc. They hit 56 percent of their shots from long range, making 9-of-16.

Vaval led Brooks and all scorers with 18 points, while Larry had 12 and Moore added 11. Olagbegi finished with 13 points for Lincoln-Way East and Ross added 10.

Here is a brief recap of the other games played Thursday.