By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Effingham kept trying to pull away.

But Teutopolis simply wouldn’t let that happen.

For the second straight night, J.H. Griffin Gymnasium was the site of a hard-fought basketball game between two rivals.

In the end, it was free throws and rebounding that made the difference, as the Hearts posted an important 77-73 Apollo Conference victory over the Wooden Shoes.

Effingham owned a 31-12 advantage at the free throw line, including 15-of-17 in the fourth period, and also held a 29-20 rebounding edge, including two big offensive rebounds late in the final quarter.

The Hearts owned a nine-point lead heading into the final period, 50-41. They expanded that to 12 points on one occasion and by 10 points three other times. After Parker Wolfe’s three-point play at the 4:11 mark, EHS led 61-51.

But the Shoes refused to go away.

Jordan Hardiek scored 10 points down the stretch, plus Max Niebrugge and Evan Addis both drained a pair of three-pointers, helping the Shoes close the gap. In fact, Niebrugge’s second three made it a one possession game and got THS within 75-73 with eight seconds still left.

But Parker Wolfe, who topped the 30-point plateau for the third straight game, made two foul shots just two seconds later to secure the win.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

In many basketball games, there is a particular stretch of time that either sets the tone, puts one team in control or even dictates the winner.

For the Effingham Lady Hearts, that was an eight-minute stretch that began with 4:30 left in the second quarter and continued the first 3½ minutes of the third period.

During that time, the Lady Hearts scored 15 unanswered points that turned a one-point deficit into a 14-point lead. That was the catalyst needed to spark them to a 56-44 victory at home Saturday over Mt. Zion

“I’m really pleased that we put two good games together back-to-back,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said, noting his team’s winning effort Thursday against Mahomet-Seymour. “We really started putting things together in that second period and then did exactly what we needed to do to start the third quarter. I was real happy to see that.”

Ashlyn Duncan’s basket at the 4:28 mark of the second quarter put Mt. Zion up 16-15. But the Lady Braves then went into an eight-minute scoring drought.

Madison Mapes put the Lady Hearts ahead to stay with a pair of free throws and then added a basket following a Mt. Zion turnover and later turned in a three-point play to send EHS to the locker room with a 24-16 lead at intermission.

Annie Frost, Sawyer Althoff and Taylor Armstrong each scored to open the second half, expanding Effingham’s margin to 14 points, 30-16. It was a 15-point spread, 38-23, when the third quarter ended.

“We put three or four plays together in a row, which gave us a little cushion,” Schafer noted. “Then we came out and executed really well to start the third quarter. I saw some really good things during that stretch.”

Frost scored nine more points in the final eight minutes and helped the Lady Hearts open their largest lead of the contest, 50-31 with just 3:20 to play. But over those final few minutes, the EHS girls turned the ball over seven times, something Schafer was not pleased with at all.

“We just started going through the motions,” he said. “You have to finish a game. We just let them hang around. I was disappointed in our energy level there at the end. We looked lethargic. I hate to see us play so well and then finish like that.”

Frost led three Lady Hearts in double figures with 15 points. Mapes finished with 13 and Armstrong added 11. Frost, Armstrong and Meredith Schaefer each pulled down seven rebounds to help the team hold a 30-18 advantage on the boards.

Effingham shot 45 percent from the game, connecting on 21-of-47 attempts. The Lady Hearts were 2-for-4 from behind the arc and 12-of-18 from the foul line. They turned the ball over 14 times, with half of those in the final period, while Mt. Zion had 19 turnovers.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

So how would the Effingham Hearts respond after suffering their first loss of the season by the slimmest of margins less than 24 hours earlier?

That was the million dollar question as game time approached Saturday afternoon.

It didn’t take long for the Hearts to put any concerns to rest.

They scored the first 11 points of the game and never trailed. Mt. Zion did go on one impressive scoring run in the second quarter, but Effingham re-grouped, rebuilt the lead and finished with a convincing 80-60 verdict at home in an Apollo Conference contest.

“I really thought the boys would be ready to play,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “They could have showed up and pouted, but they didn’t do that. They played hard and did what they needed to do to get an important win for us. They did a good job of bouncing back after that tough loss the night before.”

Parker Wolfe hit a pair of three-pointers, Jacob Stoneburner added another from long range and Garrett Wolfe scored five early points, helping the Hearts streak to an 11-0 and then 18-2 lead in the first six minutes of the game. It was a 20-6 edge by the time the opening quarter ended.

After a three, plus another bucket by Parker Wolfe, the gap was 19 points, 25-6, just 40 seconds into the second period. But that’s when the Braves started a three-point barrage. Over the next four minutes, they hit five straight – three by Dylan Roberts and a pair by Sean High – to put together a 17-2 scoring surge and trim the gap to 27-23.

The Hearts responded with a 7-0 run and took a 34-25 edge to the locker room at halftime.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Effingham had its worst shooting game of the season.

Meanwhile, Mahomet-Seymour torched the nets for 32 minutes.

Generally, that combination results in a rather lopsided decision.

But as the final seconds ticked off the clock Friday night at EHS, the Hearts had the ball with a chance to win.

Unfortunately, Parker Wolfe’s 17-foot jumper from the wing was just a little off-target and the Bulldogs escaped with a 62-61 win that not only knocked the Hearts from the ranks of the unbeaten, but also shuffled things up in the Apollo Conference.

The Hearts still sit atop the league standings at 7-1, but both Mahomet-Seymour and Lincoln are now close behind with just two losses.

And the Bulldogs can thank red hot shooting for that. The Bulldogs shot a blistering 60 percent overall and were even better from behind arc, knocking down 62 percent of their attempts (8-for-13). And the trio of Eli Warren, Braden Finch and Blake Wolters were even better. That threesome combined to score 49 points and make 70 percent of their shots, including 8-of-12 from three-point range.

“Overall, I thought we guarded their offense pretty well,” a disappointed EHS coach Obie Farmer said following the contest. “But when a team shoots 60 percent with a hand in their face, they’re going to be tough to beat. You saw their shooting stats. Holy cow! That was good shooting.”

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