By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
How quickly things can change in a basketball game.
Through the first three quarters, the Effingham Flaming Hearts had controlled the pace of the game, was playing pretty well at both ends of the floor, owned a slim lead and had put themselves in position for a potential win.
But the Champaign Centennial Chargers didn’t let that happen.
They ramped up their pressure on defense, got an offensive explosion from their best player and turned the game completely around in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
After scoring just 39 points in the first three periods, Centennial erupted for 39 more in the final eight minutes to come away with a 78-61 win Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the 9th annual Wooden Shoes Shootout in Teutopolis.
After Armando Estrada hit a short jumper, the Hearts owned a 42-39 advantage heading into that final quarter. Nobody in J.H Griffin Gymnasium could have expected what happened next.
The Chargers came out in a swarming zone trap defense that created problems. Effingham turned the ball six times before it got a shot. Its only two points over the first three minutes were a pair of free throws by Garret Wolfe.
The Effingham Hearts made the long trip to Lincoln Friday night and dropped a 42-29 decision to the Apollo Conference-leading Railsplitters.
The hosts got 11 first-quarter points from Peyton Cook and jumped out to an 18-4 lead after the opening eight minutes. It was 26-13 at halftime and 36-21 after three quarters.
Cook was the only player in the game to crack double figures, finishing with 16. The Hearts got nine points from Armando Estrada, eight from Ethan Ritz and seven from Brayden Pals, who returned to the lineup after a hand injury had sidelined him for several weeks.
The Hearts dipped to 9-18 on the season overall and 1-10 in the Apollo Conference. It will be a quick turnaround for the EHS boys. They will be back in action Saturday in the Wooden Shoes Shootout in Teutopolis. Effingham will play the opening game and face Champaign Centennial at 1 p.m.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
It was a preview of next week’s regional matchup.
And Round 1 went to the Effingham Lady Hearts.
Effingham handled defensive pressure well, was disciplined on offense and used the middle two quarters to build a double-digit lead.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Hearts had a 52-45 win at home Wednesday over the Richland County (Olney) Lady Tigers, the same team they will face five days from now in an opening-round game of the regional.
The Lady Tigers are a quick, pesky team that plays full-court, pressure man-to-man defense from the opening tap. For the most part, EHS handled that pressure in an efficient way. But four turnovers in the final eight minutes made it interesting down the stretch.
After Meredith Schaefer and Ella Niebrugge both scored, the Lady Hearts held a seemingly comfortable 47-33 cushion just two minutes into the fourth quarter. But a couple turnovers helped Olney go on a 9-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Reese Smith that got the guests within 47-42 at the 2:58 mark.
Schaefer then turned in a three-point play, followed by a pair of free throws to build the lead back to double-digits, 52-42, with only 1:07 left to secure the 19th win of the season.
When a team gets shut out for an entire quarter, it rarely wins a basketball game.
The exception to that rule happened Thursday night in Mt. Zion.
The Effingham Lady Hearts missed all 12 of their shots in the second period, didn’t score a single point and trailed 10-9 at halftime.
But the second half was a different story.
The Lady Hearts poured in 43 points over the final 16 minutes and rolled to a 52-30 road victory in the regular season and Apollo Conference finale.
That win was the 20th of the season for Effingham and the 13th time Coach Jeff Schafer has guided his team to 20 or more wins in his career.
That win looked a bit elusive in the first half, however. The Lady Hearts led 9-5 after the opening period, but then went ice cold and trailed by a point at halftime.
But things changed quickly in the third period. After being held scoreless in the first half, Madison Mapes knocked down three shots from behind the arc to spark a 20-9 scoring surge that put the Lady Hearts in control.
EHS didn’t let up in the final period. Mapes scored seven more and Meredith Schaefer connected on a pair of threes, helping the Lady Hearts close out the game on a 22-11 run and secure the 22-point win.
Mapes finished with a game-high 16 points, while Schaefer was also in double figures with 14.
The Lady Hearts finished the regular season at 20-10 overall and 6-6 in the Apollo. They will now prepare for the postseason and return to action Monday night. They are hosting the Class 3A Regional and will face Richland County (Olney) at 7:30 p.m.
The Effingham Hearts had no answer for Jaksen Braun, especially in the fourth quarter.
Charleston’s 6’5” senior scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the final eight minutes, helping the host Trojans pull away and post a 57-46 Apollo Conference victory Tuesday night.
After Ethan Ritz drained a three-pointer, the Hearts were within 44-37 with six minutes left in the game. But Braun then scored on three straight trips down the floor to expand the margin to 50-37, the largest of the game.
Another three by Ritz, plus two baskets by Garrett Wolfe, got Effingham to within 52-46 at the 1:26 mark, but the Trojans made five free throws in the final 60 seconds to secure the victory.
“Braun is a good player. He’s long and athletic,” Effingham coach Obie Farmer said. “But a couple times on our press rotations, we lost him under the basket and he got some easy ones.
“These kids always battle hard,” Farmer added. “But playing hard doesn’t put points on the board. We missed several defensive assignments tonight and people got loose for some easy baskets.”
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