Obie Farmer knew Centralia was very good on offense.

And he found out quickly just how right he was.

The Orphans started the game red hot, built a 27-6 lead and then went on to defeat Effingham, 61-47, Wednesday night in a semifinal game of the Effingham Class 3A Regional.

Centralia, now 23-7, will face Carbondale for the regional title. That game is set for 7 p.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to the Mt. Vernon Sectional.

The Orphans took control early and built what proved to be an insurmountable lead.

Freshman Koby Wilmoth knocked down four of the team’s six 3-pointers in the first eight minutes. He had 14 points, while teammate Jamie Long added another three and eight points and Tryce Westbrook also connected from long range.

When the quarter ended, Centralia had a 21-point cushion.

“They are a very disciplined team,” Farmer said. “They are very good, very crisp on offense. You hope they make some bad choices, but they don’t very often.

“They hit a lot of shots, but we eventually settled down and actually played pretty good basketball,” Farmer added. “You just can’t give yourself a 20-point deficit and expect to win.”

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The Apollo Conference has released the names of the girls selected to the 2019-2020 all-conference team.

The Effingham Lady Hearts were represented by freshman Annie Frost, who was named to the second team.

Conference champion Mattoon had two girls on the first team. The Lady Green Wave finished with a perfect 12-0 league record. Mt. Zion was runner-up at 10-2, followed by Lincoln at 6-6, Mahomet-Seymour 5-7, Effingham 4-8, Charleston 3-9 and Taylorville 2-10.

Here are the girls selected:

First Team – Mallory Ramage (Mattoon), Shae Littleford (Charleston), Lanie Wolter (Mt. Zion), Leah Schneider (Taylorville) and Delainey Bryant (Mattoon).

Second Team – Annie Frost (Effingham), Haylee Sagle (Taylorville), Emma Ewing (Mt. Zion), Nichole Taylor (Mahomet-Seymour) and Madelyn Koehler (Lincoln).

The Taylorville Tornadoes did everything they could to take Parker Wolfe and Drew Thompson out of the game at the offensive end.

That’s okay.

Nate Thompson and Tate Niebrugge stepped up and made them pay.

That duo combined for 36 points Friday night, leading the Effingham Hearts to an 80-71 win at home on Senior Night.

“Taylorville came out in a triangle-and-2 on Parker and Drew,” EHS coach Obie Farmer explained. “I don’t blame them. Those two can really pile up the points.

“But they didn’t count on Nate and Tate scoring a bunch,” Farmer added. “We ended up playing a lot of 3-on-3 and really cut them up. We ran some set plays and everybody got shots and made them. It worked out real well.”

The Hearts led 13-11 after the opening eight minutes. Nate Thompson made a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 points in the second period, and Niebrugge also knocked down a three and tallied five points, giving the Hearts a 33-24 edge heading to the locker room at intermission.

Effingham maintained the lead throughout the second half. Niebrugge drilled two more from behind the arc and scored 12 second-half points. Wolfe was limited to three baskets in the game, but made 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter. Overall, the Hearts shot 26 free throws in the final eight minutes, making 19 of them.

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Despite playing without leading scorer Parker Wolfe, the Effingham Flaming Hearts gave Marion all it could handle Tuesday night.

But the Wildcats got 44 points from Jackson Connor and were able to rally for a 74-69 win at home.

The Hearts, led by Drew Thompson’s 16 points, had a 32-27 lead at intermission.

But Connor then exploded for 16 points in the third quarter, helping Marion go on a 26-16 spurt and take a 53-48 edge into the final eight minutes.

Drew Thompson tallied 16 points in the fourth period, but Connor scored 11 more, helping the Wildcats secure the win and improve to 20-9 on the season.

Drew Thompson made six 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 36 points. Brayden Pals scored nine and Nate Thompson added eight. Wolfe missed the game due to illness.

The Hearts, now 17-12, will conclude their regular season at home Friday night against Taylorville. Effingham will then host a Class 3A Regional and play Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Centralia.