By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Just too much firepower.
That’s what St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker said Saturday night following the Bulldogs clash with crosstown rival Effingham.
“I feel like this was a game of runs,” Rincker noted. “They would get up by double digits and then we’d close in. But they just have more firepower than we do. We could never crawl back and get even.”
Rincker’s description of the game was spot-on.
The Hearts led for all but one 60-second stretch early in the opening period. That lead ballooned to double digits on multiple occasions, only to see the Bulldogs fight back.
But in the end, it was the Hearts who captured bragging rights for this year after posting a 75-54 decision at The Enlow Center.
“Anytime we play St. Anthony, it doesn’t matter who is favored or who has been playing well,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “This crosstown rivalry is always the equalizer. The kids know each other and they bring a lot of energy. I’m just happy to get out of here with a win.”
But despite leading virtually the entire way, that win was not secured until the fourth quarter.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The last time the Effingham Hearts traveled to Mt. Zion, they came home very disappointed.
It was just about 13 months ago -- January 31, 2020 -- and a game the Hearts were supposed to win. Instead, they relied too heavily on the three-point shot, went 0-for-15 from that range in the second half, and dropped a 50-44 decision.
The Hearts had a chance to avenge that loss Friday night and let’s just say the ride home was much more enjoyable this time.
Effingham got the ball inside repeatedly, built an early lead and rolled to a 69-46 win that kept them unbeaten on the season.
“Last year’s game was a motivator for us,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “The kids played poorly, lost a game they should have won and took it personally.
“But that loss actually made us better,” Farmer added. “That’s when we started to evolve, especially on offense. They realized we had to have more options on offense than just shooting the three. Since that game, we have gotten better as players, as coaches and as a team.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
“An ugly win is always better than a pretty loss.”
When asked to describe Wednesday night’s Apollo Conference game at Mahomet-Seymour, those were the first words Effingham coach Obie Farmer said.
The same words any other coach in any other sport would echo.
The end result – a 71-62 victory – was what mattered.
The fact that the Hearts let a pair of double-digit leads evaporate, didn’t play well on defense and got out-rebounded by a rather substantial margin, are all things the team can work on.
When the final buzzer sounded, Effingham was still undefeated, still sitting atop the league standings and their No. 10 ranking in the Class 3A poll was secure.
But it didn’t come easy.
After baskets by Nate Thompson and Garrett Wolfe to open the fourth quarter, the Hearts had that double-digit advantage, 58-48. But the Bulldogs got back-to-back buckets from Luke Koller and then five points from Eli Warren, including a three-pointer, that capped a 12-4 surge and narrowed the gap to 62-60 with 2:26 to play.
But down the stretch, it was all Effingham. Thompson followed with a three and Jacob Stoneburner scored the final seven points as the Hearts ended the game on a 9-2 run.
The Effingham Lady Hearts returned to the win column Thursday night, traveling to Mt. Zion and coming home with a 49-47 Apollo Conference victory.
The game was close throughout. The Lady Braves led 15-11 after the opening eight minutes, but Effingham got seven points from Taylor Armstrong in the second period to take a slim 23-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Ella Niebrugge connected on a three-pointer and scored five points and Annie Frost added a couple buckets, as the Lady Hearts increased their lead to 37-33 heading into the fourth period.
Mt. Zion freshman Denver Anderson poured in 12 of her game-high 25 points in the final eight minutes, but EHS was able to hang on and come away with the two-point win.
The Lady Hearts placed three players in double figures. Armstrong led the way with 17 points, while Niebrugge finished with 14 and Frost added 11.
The Lady Hearts improved to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in league play. They are scheduled to play at home Monday night against Taylorville.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For 28 of the 32 minutes, the Effingham and Mahomet-Seymour girls played on even terms.
After 22 minutes, the Lady Bulldogs held a slim 32-31 lead. Over the final six minutes of the Apollo Conference contest, the Lady Hearts outscored the hosts 16-12.
But it was those four minutes in-between that made all the difference.
Over the last two minutes of the third quarter and the opening two minutes of the fourth period, Effingham missed all five of its shots and turned the ball over three times.
And Mahomet-Seymour capitalized, rattling off 14 unanswered points, en route to a 56-47 decision Wednesday night. The game was originally scheduled to be played Monday night, but was postponed because of weather.
“It’s so disappointing,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “We cut the lead to one and had a chance to take the lead. But we didn’t even get a shot. We turned the ball. Then we had more turnovers, and to their credit, they made us pay for that by cashing those mistakes in for points. We just didn’t take care of the ball.”
The Lady Bulldogs led by as many as seven points, 29-22, after the first three minutes of the second half. But Annie Frost scored back-to-back baskets – both after grabbing offensive rebounds – to start a 9-3 run for the Lady Hearts.
Taylor Armstrong hit a short jumper and Ella Niebrugge drilled a three-pointer to get EHS within 32-31at the 2:28 mark.
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