Basketball

Unbeaten Lincoln outscored Effingham 31-17 in the second half Friday night to break open a close game and post a 56-39 victory at home.

The Hearts fell behind by double digits early, trailing 15-5 after the opening eight minutes. But EHS then opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 16-15 lead. Lincoln came back to take a 25-22 lead as the teams headed to the locker room at intermission.

The Railsplitters, who improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Apollo Conference, built the lead to 39-29 after three quarters and then outscored Effingham 17-10 in the final eight minutes to seal the victory.

Lincoln had four players score in double figures, but Effingham had just one – Parker Wolfe, who led the Hearts with 23 points.

EHS also dropped the junior varsity game by a score of 41-27. Brayden Pals had seven points.

Effingham, now 5-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, will return home Tuesday to face county rival Teutopolis. The Hearts will then travel to Charleston on Friday and play at home Saturday against Newton.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It wasn’t pretty, except for the end result.

“We didn’t play great, but we found a way to win,” said Effingham girls basketball coach Jeff Schafer, as he perfectly summed up Thursday night’s game.

Despite turning the ball over 20 times and missing several open shots near the basket, the Lady Hearts still emerged with a 41-29 victory at home

“I’m very happy with how we stuck with it,” Schafer noted. “We didn’t let our offense affect our defense. We need to rebound better and take better care of the ball, but you always want to celebrate a win, especially a conference win.”

The Lady Hearts held a slim 20-19 edge four minutes into the second half when Hayley Diveley came alive at the offensive end. The junior guard connected on two 3-pointers and added two free throws, helping EHS close out the third quarter on a 10-2 run and build a 30-21 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

Diveley added another shot from behind the arc in the fourth period, giving her 11 points in the half and expanding Effingham’s lead to 11 at 37-26, with 2:44 to play.

“Hayley hit some big shots for us,” Schafer said. “She probably could have had a few more if she hadn’t been unselfish. I liked seeing her step up and hit those shots. She’s a gamer. She’s not afraid and she’ll compete hard every game.”

The Effingham Lady Hearts and Teutopolis Lady Shoes will participate in the annual Charleston Girls Holiday Basketball Tournament.

The tourney will begin Friday, Dec. 27, and continue Saturday, Dec. 28 and finish on Monday, Dec. 30.

Charleston, Cairo, Danville, Paris, Sacred Heart and Tri-County will also be in this year’s eight-team field.

Effingham, Teutopolis, Charleston and Cairo will play in the Red Pool, while Danville, Paris, Sacred Heart and Tri-County will be in the Gold Pool.

Here is the tournament scheduled:

Friday, Dec. 27

Game 1 – 9 a.m. – Tri-County vs. Danville

Game 2 – 10:30 a.m. – Paris vs. Sacred Heart

Game 3 – Noon – Teutopolis vs. Effingham

Game 4 – 1:30 p.m. – Charleston vs. Cairo

Game 5 – 3 p.m. – Danville vs. Paris

Game 6 – 4:30 p.m. – Sacred Heart vs. Tri-County

Game 7 – 6 p.m. – Cairo vs. Teutopolis

Game 8 – 7:30 p.m. – Charleston vs. Effingham

The 7th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic should be a great one.

The field includes 16 quality teams that should provide plenty of competitive games over three days.

This year’s tournament will be played Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 26-28. Games will be played in Effingham and Teutopolis.

The full schedule is listed below:

Thursday, Dec. 26

At Teutopolis

Game 1 – 3 p.m. – Lincoln Way East vs. Mattoon

Game 5 – 4:30 p.m. – Oak Lawn vs. Lawrenceville

Game 3 – 6 p.m. – St. Anthony vs. Pleasant Plains

Game 7 – 7:30 p.m. – Teutopolis vs. Chicago Brooks

At Effingham

Game 2 – 3 p.m. -- Champaign Centennial vs. Antioch

Game 4 – 4:30 p.m. – Central A&M vs. Charleston

Game 6 – 6 p.m. – Chicago Corliss vs. Dixon

Game 8 – 7:30 p.m. – Effingham vs. Sacred Heart Griffin

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Drew Thompson had another big game offensively and Effingham used a second-quarter scoring spurt to take control and build a comfortable lead.

But according to EHS coach Obie Farmer, it was the defensive effort by Parker Wolfe that was the difference in the game.

The combination of everything resulted in another win for the Hearts, as they posted a 58-39 win at home Tuesday over Olney.

Drew Thompson pumped in 27 points, the Hearts went on a 12-0 run to start the second period and Wolfe held Olney’s leading scorer Braden Flanagan to just nine points. He came into the game averaging 20.

“Parker’s shots haven’t been falling the last couple games, so we decided to change his role,” Farmer said. “We had him guard Flanagan and he really stepped up. He dogged Flanagan the whole game and that created a huge roadblock for them.

“I thought that defensive effort was the difference tonight,” the EHS coach added. “In fact, our whole team played pretty good defense. We turned defense into offense; turnovers into points. I thought it was our defense that allowed us to really get going.”