By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Before Chicago Brooks took a single shot or grabbed a rebound or applied any defensive pressure, Obie Farmer knew his team faced a tough task Wednesday afternoon.
And then the Eagles came out and hit their first seven three-pointers, built a quick lead and were never threatened.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Effingham Hearts became the second team in two days to discover just how talented the team from Chicago was, dropping a 67-42 decision in a quarterfinal game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
Brooks advanced to the semifinals, where they were scheduled to face Oak Lawn at 7:30 tonight (Wednesday). The winner of that game will play for the tournament championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Hearts, now 1-1 in tourney play, returned to action at 6 p.m. against Knoxville.
“Before you even talk about their efficiency on offense or how well they rebound the ball, you know their aggressiveness and their style of play is going to be tough to adjust to,” Farmer said. “They are long, lengthy and quick. You see that about this team before you even discuss the other things that make them a good basketball team.”
But the three-point shooting was an early dagger for the Hearts.
The game wasn’t even 3½ minutes old and the Eagles had already drained four shots from behind the arc and led 14-1. By the end of the first period, they had made two more and led 24-11. And then Jerrett Moore knocked down another one to open the second period. That was followed by a rebound basket by 6’7” Kyle McElroy and a layup following an EHS turnover by Ryan Little.
Less than 10 minutes into the game and Brooks had a commanding 31-11 edge.
“If you get up on them tight, they can beat you off the dribble. But if you lay back, they can make the three,” Farmer explained. “They are a tough team to guard.”
The 8th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic resumed play Wednesday.
Here’s a brief recap of those contests.
Game 9
Champaign Centennial 50; Pleasant Plains 49
The Centennial Chargers put together a fourth quarter rally that notched their first win in the tournament.
Trailing 37-29 after three periods, Centennial outscored the Cardinals 21-12 in the final eight minutes to come away with the close 50-49 decision.
David Hubbard led Centennial with 18 points, while Zach Powell took game scoring honors with 24 for Pleasant Plains. Cooper Schallenberg added 14 for the Cardinals.
Game 10
Mattoon 59; Horizon Science Academy 24
The Mattoon Green Wave broke out to an early lead and were threatened, en route to a 59-24 decision over Horizon Academy.
Mattoon built a 15-5 lead after the first period and expanded their advantage to 33-9 at halftime.
Eleven different Green Wave cracked the scoring column, led by Christian Larson’s 10 points. Kamren Cook had seven points for Horizon.
The 8th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic opened with eight games Monday.
Here’s a brief recap of those contests.
Game 1
Lincoln-Way East 53; Pleasant Plains 43
The Lincoln-Way Griffins outscored Pleasant Plains 23-13 in the middle two quarters and came away with a 53-43 victory in the first game at Teutopolis High School.
The Cardinals led 16-13 after the opening eight minutes, but the Griffins came back to lead 26-23 at halftime. The half ended with a nice back-door play that culminated with a thunderous dunk by Pleasant Plains’ Zach Powell.
Tylon Toliver led LWE with a game-high 21 points, while Kyle Olagbegi added 16. Powell led Pleasant Plains with 19.
Pleasant Plains will play Champaign Centennial at 9 a.m. today (Wednesday).
Lincoln-Way East will face St. Anthony at 1:30 p.m.
Both games are at Teutopolis High School.
The game was close throughout, but the Effingham Hearts just couldn’t seem to get the lead.
Until the final 40 seconds.
Armando Estrada and Jett Volpi both scored key baskets in the final minute, helping the Hearts snap a seven-game skid and advance to the quarterfinals of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic with a 50-47 win Tuesday night over Dixon.
The Dukes built a 17-11 lead after the first eight minutes, but it was a two, three, four point game the rest of the way. Dixon led 25-23 at halftime and still held a slim 35-34 edge heading into the fourth period.
The Dukes were up 47-46 as the clock ticked under one minute to play. A three-point attempt by Ethan Ritz was off target, but when Dixon tried to save the ball from going out-of-bounds, it went right to Estrada, who scored to put EHS on top.
“After a timeout, Dixon then tried to run a set play and get the ball to No. 15 (Jacob Gaither),” Effingham coach Obie Farmer explained. “Ritz made a heads-up play, deflecting the ball away and causing a jump ball.”
That came with 10 seconds to play and the possession award pointed to the Hearts. On the ensuing in-bounds play, Andrew Splechter flashed down the sideline and got the ball. It was knocked away, however, and headed for the baseline.
“Andrew made a diving play and saved it right to Volpi, who put it in for two points,” Farmer said.
That came with five seconds left. Dixon got off a final desperation three, but it failed to connect.
“The kids played really hard tonight,” Farmer said. “We played team basketball. We kept the game at a comfortable pace and took care of the ball. I was really proud of our effort.”
The third quarter made the difference.
The Tri-County Lady Titans went on a 16-6 run in the third quarter, sparking the No. 7 ranked Class 1A team to a 47-43 win over Effingham in an opening-round game Tuesday of the Charleston Holiday Tournament.
The Lady Hearts fell behind 17-13 after the initial eight minutes, but used a 14-2 scoring outburst in the second quarter to build a 27-19 lead at halftime.
But Bella Dudley knocked down three three-pointers and scored nine of her game-high 21 points in the third quarter to spark the Lady Titans comeback. Effingham played tough throughout, but Tri-County made 10-of-16 free throws in the final period to secure the victory.
The free throw line played a pivotal role. The Lady Titans were 16-of-25, while the Lady Hearts were 6-for-10.
Meredith Schaefer led EHS with 19 points, while Ella Niebrugge scored 11.
The Lady Hearts dipped to 9-4 overall. They will play two games today (Wednesday). They will face Teutopolis at 2 p.m. and then play Charleston at 6 p.m.
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