By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For the second straight day, it was a second-half tweak and a late-scoring run that proved to be key factors for an Effingham win.
On Friday night, it was installing a 2-3 zone defense and a 15-0 fourth-quarter scoring spurt that sparked the Hearts to a victory over Mt. Zion.
Saturday afternoon, it was a simple backdoor cut on offense to begin the second half and a 10-0 scoring spree in the final period that helped EHS post a 57-49 win over Casey-Westfield in the fourth game of the day at the 8th annual St. Anthony Shootout.
“Casey-Westfield was playing a very aggressive, tight man-to-man defense on us,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “At halftime, I told the kids if they were going to keep playing us like that, we needed to make some backdoor cuts. We were able to do that a few times and get some easy baskets. It just speaks volumes to how smart our kids are.”
The game was tied 26-26 at intermission. But just 12 seconds into the third period, Nate Thompson made one of those backdoor cuts. Jacob Stoneburner saw him and made a perfect pass. Thompson scored and the Hearts never trailed again.
Both Nate and Drew Thompson later had three-point plays, both coming off backdoor cuts that the Warriors had difficulty defending. Nate Thompson, who had a double-double performance, hit another jumper to open a seven-point advantage, 38-31.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
It was a game Effingham was supposed to win.
After all, Mt. Zion had won only two games this season.
But after 25 minutes of play, the Hearts were only on top by a scant two points.
Then the spurt came.
Drew Thompson and Tate Niebrugge knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers that sparked a 15-0 scoring run and carried the Hearts to a 55-42 Apollo Conference victory at home Friday night.
“We started setting high ball screens and Parker (Wolfe) started attacking the basket,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “But Parker was more of a facilitator tonight. He was able to drive and then dish the ball a couple times to Drew and to Tate. And they hit their shots.”
After Nash Mose hit a short jumper just a minute into the fourth period, the Braves only trailed 35-33. But Mt. Zion didn’t score again for almost 5½ minutes. And by that time, the Hearts were in complete control, owning a 17-point advantage, 50-33.
The scoring spree started with a free throw by Nate Thompson. Drew Thompson then connected from behind the arc and Niebrugge followed with possibly the biggest shot of the game. His three made it a nine-point spread and really gave EHS the spark and momentum it needed.
The Effingham freshman and sophomore basketball teams played Thursday night at Salem and split the two games.
The EHS frosh dropped a 64-53 decision, while the Hearts sophomores posted a 53-41 victory.
In the sophomore contest, the Hearts raced to a 24-10 lead after eight minutes. Jett Volpi hit three shots from behind the arc and scored 11 points in the opening period, helping EHS gain the early lead. Volpi finished with 14 points to lead Effingham’s scoring attack.
In the freshman game, Salem led 15-7 after the first period and extended the lead to 31-14 at halftime. Andrew Donaldson and Armando Estrada both scored nine points for the Hearts.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
With five minutes to play, the Effingham Lady Hearts had trimmed a one-time double-digit deficit to four and had the ball.
But they missed their final 12 shots of the game and had a couple costly turnovers and Lincoln took advantage.
The Lady Railsplitters closed out the game on a 16-3 run to post a 68-51 Apollo Conference victory Thursday night at Effingham.
“You can’t have your last 15 to 17 possessions come up empty,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “The girls had done a good job methodically getting back in the game. We cut it to four and had a chance to get within two. But we just couldn’t make our shots.”
Annie Frost and Hayley Diveley connected on back-to-back baskets to make it 52-48 with 5:12 to play. The Lady Hearts then got the ball back, but a turnover cut that possession short. Lincoln’s Leah Schneider then started a 12-0 scoring spree with a basket. Two free throws by Ava Gorens capped the run and expanded the gap to 64-48 with 43 seconds left.
The only points EHS scored in the final five minutes were three free throws by Diveley. The Lady Hearts made just 2-of-15 overall shots in the fourth quarter and were 0-for-9 from three-point range.
“I thought our effort was solid tonight,” Schafer said. “The girls played fairly aggressively. We just have to shoot better. For the most part, we had good shots. We just didn’t make many of them.”
That was not the case in the opening 2½ minutes of the game. Diveley hit a pair of 3-pointers, Frost had a basket and Taylor Armstrong made two free throws. At the 5:31 mark, the Lady Hearts owned a 10-2 lead.
Grant Coleman proved why he’s one of the best players in the Apollo Conference.
The senior forward poured in 30 points, including 10 in the fourth period, helping Mahomet-Seymour post a 71-67 victory at home Tuesday night over Effingham.
The game was close throughout.
The Bulldogs led 18-13 after eight minutes, but the Hearts battled back to tie the game, 32-32, at halftime. Mahomet-Seymour held a slim two-point edge, 53-51, entering the fourth quarter.
Jacob Stoneburner scored all 10 of his points in the final eight minutes, but the Bulldogs went 6-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch to escape with the win.
Effingham had three other players reach double figures as well. Nate Thompson led the scoring attack with 21 points, while Drew Thompson scored 18 and Parker Wolfe added 14.
The Bulldogs improved to 7-6 overall and remained unbeaten in conference play at 3-0.
The Hearts dipped to 9-6 for the season and 2-2 in the Apollo. EHS will play at home Friday night, facing conference foe Mt. Zion. The Hearts will then play Saturday in the St. Anthony Shootout. They will face Casey-Westfield at 3:30 p.m.
The Hearts won the junior varsity game 52-35. They outscored Mahomet-Seymour 27-13 in the second half. Brayden Pals scored 23 points.
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