Mahomet-Seymour outscored Effingham 9-2 down the stretch and came away with a 50-43 road victory Saturday in an Apollo Conference matchup.

The Lady Hearts, who trailed 34-28 after three quarters, battled back to tie the game at 43-43 with 1:50 to play. But Savannah Orgeron, who scored 12 points in the final eight minutes, sparked the late run that secured the win for the Lady Bulldogs.

Mahomet-Seymour led most of the game. The Lady Bulldogs were on top 10-8 after the opening period and 24-17 at halftime.

Orgeron finished with a game-high 19 points for the Lady Bulldogs, who improved to 20-7 overall and 6-4 in league play.

Bria Beals led the Lady Hearts with 17 points. She ignited the fourth quarter rally by hitting three shots from behind the arc. Ella Niebrugge added 11.

The Lady Hearts dipped to 17-9 overall and 4-5 in the Apollo. They will play Tuesday at Charleston.

The Effingham Hearts exploded for 30 points in the first quarter and coasted to an 83-27 road victory Tuesday night over Oblong-Palestine-Hutsonville.

Garrett Wolfe scored eight points and Andrew Donaldson and Andrew Splechter both had seven, helping the Hearts open a dominating 30-3 lead after the first eight minutes.

During that opening quarter, Wolfe scored the 1,000^th point of his high school career.

Effingham led 55-11 at halftime and 70-19 after three periods.

Donaldson and Splechter shared scoring honors, both finishing with 17 points. Wolfe added 11.

Effingham improved to 10-15 for the year. The Hearts will now have a few days off. They will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 2, when they travel to Mattoon for an Apollo Conference game.

The Effingham Lady Hearts built a double-digit lead and then hung on to post a 50-46 victory at home Thursday night over Mattoon.

Ella Niebrugge knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points, helping Effingham jump out to a 12-2 lead after the first eight minutes. The Lady Hearts expanded their advantage to 18-7 at halftime and led by 14 points, 32-18, going into the fourth period.

But the Lady Green Wave made a furious comeback. Emily Maple made three shots from behind the arc and scored 14 points, and Lily Ghere scored nine more, as Mattoon outscored EHS 28-18. The Lady Hearts went 12-for-17 from the foul line in the fourth period, which was enough to secure the victory.

Niebrugge led the Effingham scoring attack with 18 points. Saige Althoff had nine and Madison Mapes, Bria Beals and Marissa Allie all added seven.

The Lady Hearts improved to 17-7 overall and are now 4-4 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action tonight (Friday) at Teutopolis and will then play at home Saturday against Mahomet-Seymour.

For the second game in a row, the Effingham Hearts didn’t handle pressure well and gave up a big lead.

On Saturday afternoon, the Hearts saw a 17-point lead evaporate, but was rescued when Logan Heil hit a bucket with 11 seconds to play to give them a one-point win over Salem.

Later that same day, Effingham owned a seemingly comfortable 18-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. But, again, pressure defense resulted in numerous turnovers and allowed Champaign Central to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Maroons held the Hearts scoreless in the final eight minutes. They went on an 18-0 scoring surge to tie the game and then finished the comeback by outscoring EHS 13-9 in overtime to post a 59-55 victory in the consolation championship of the Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.

Until the fourth quarter, Effingham had led throughout.

Garrett Wolfe scored 11 first-quarter points, helping the Hearts go on top, 16-12. Wolfe knocked down two threes and netted eight more points in the second period. Andrew Donaldson and Andrew Splechter also connected on three-point shots and both scored five points, as EHS went on a 20-6 scoring run to open a 36-18 bulge at halftime.

It was still an 18-point spread, 46-28, heading into the final eight minutes. Champaign Central knocked down three shots from behind the arc to spark the 18-0 scoring spree in the fourth quarter to send the game to the overtime period.

In the extra session, the Maroons went 9-for-12 from the free throw line and got seven points from Landon Robinson. Wolfe had four points and Donaldson had another three, but it wasn’t enough.

Chris Bush scored 28 points for Champaign Central, who improved to 7-14 on the season.

Wolfe finished with 27 for the Hearts, while Donaldson added 10.

Effingham dipped to 9-15 for the year. The Hearts will travel to Hutsonville on Tuesday night.