For the fourth time this season, the overtime period was unkind to the Effingham Hearts.

Charleston made 11-of-16 free throws and outscored the Hearts 18-10 in the extra session to come away with a 69-61 win Tuesday night at EHS.

The Trojans will now be added to the list that includes Mascoutah, Pleasant Plains and Champaign Central as teams Effingham has lost in OT to.

Charleston jumped out to a 20-8 lead after the opening eight minutes, but the Hearts then went on a 19-6 scoring run in the second period to take a 27-26 edge to the locker room at halftime. Andrew Splechter scored eight points in that quarter.

Effingham was still on top, 38-36, heading into the final quarter.

Splechter scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Hearts. Garrett Wolfe and Donaldson were also in double figures, finishing with 14 and 12 points respectively.

The Hearts dipped to 10-18 overall and are now 4-6 in the Apollo Conference. They have two more games this week. They will be at home Friday night against Lincoln and then play in the Wooden Shoes Shootout in Teutopolis on Saturday. They will face Jerseyville at 3:30 p.m.

The Effingham Lady Hearts are in hopes of adding their first regional championship since winning three straight in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

A year ago, the Lady Hearts reached the championship game of the Class 3A Effingham Regional, but was defeated by Mt. Vernon.

This year, EHS will enter as the No. 2 seed in the Mattoon Regional and play its opening game on Monday, Feb. 13. The Lady Hearts will face Charleston at 6 p.m.

The regional championship is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17.

The winner will advance to the Centralia Sectional. Regional winners from Marion, Highland and Mascoutah will also advance to the Centralia Sectional.

Here is the complete schedule for the Mattoon Regional.

Monday, Feb. 13

Game 1 – 6 p.m. – No. 2 Effingham vs. No. 9 Charleston

Game 2 – 7:30 p.m. – No. 3 Mattoon vs. No. 5 Olney (Richland County)

Friday, Feb. 17

Game 3 – 7 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (championship)

Mahomet-Seymour built a double-digit lead at halftime and then pulled away in the fourth quarter, posting a 61-44 Apollo Conference win at home Saturday night over Effingham.

Andrew Donaldson connected on a pair of three-pointers in the opening quarter, helping the Hearts stay within 12-10. But the host Bulldogs outscored Effingham 21-13 in the second period to take a 10-point cushion, 33-23, to the locker room at halftime.

It was still a 10-point margin heading into the final eight minutes, but Mahomet-Seymour outscored the Hearts 16-9 down the stretch to secure the win.

Andrew Splechter led EHS with a game-high 14 points and Logan Heil was also in double figures with 10.

The Hearts dipped to 10-17 overall and our now 4-5 in the Apollo Conference. The Hearts will play at home tonight (Tuesday) against Charleston.

The Lincoln Lady Railsplitters are 27-0 for a reason.

They showed how talented they are Friday night, posting a 78-27 win at home over Effingham.

Lincoln’s super talented junior Kloe Froebe also put on a show, scoring 31 points in just three quarters. She had seven points in the first quarter, as the Lady Railsplitters jumped out to a 19-4 lead. By halftime, Froebe had netted 19 points and the hosts owned a 41-8 advantage.

Alyssa Martin led EHS with 10 points.

The Lady Hearts dropped to 18-10 overall and 5-6 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action Wednesday with a game at Olney.