The Newton Eagles jumped out to a 16-4 lead Tuesday night and went on to defeat Effingham, 66-52.
The host Eagles increased their lead to 34-16 at halftime.
Caden Nichols led Newton with 27 points and topped the 1,000-point plateau in the process. Dylan Gier added 17, as the Eagles improved to 13-5 on the season.
The Hearts had two players in double figures. KJ Kellams scored 12 points and Hayden Wendling had 11.
The Hearts are now 2-17 on the season. They will travel to Taylorville on Thursday night.
Robinson jumped out to a quick double-digit lead and maintained that throughout the game, en route to a 57-40 win at home Saturday over Effingham.
The Maroons led by 15 points in the opening period and owned an 18-5 advantage at the end of the first eight minutes. It was 29-15 at halftime and 39-28 heading into the fourth period.
“We got down 15 quick, then we played steady the rest of the game,” said EHS coach Obie Farmer. “I thought we played decent for three quarters, but we still struggle to score.”
Robinson’s Noah Gilbert led all scorers with 18 points, while Owen Schmidt added 14. Hayden Wendling led EHS with nine points.
The Hearts are now 2-16 on the season. They will travel to Newton on Tuesday.
The Mt. Zion Braves are the real deal.
And they show it Friday night.
The Braves used a 25-7 scoring advantage in the second period to gain control, en route to a 69-27 victory at home over Effingham.
Mt. Zion is now 16-0 overall and 4-0 in Apollo Conference play.
Three-pointers by Cannon Bockhorn, KJ Kellams and Ryan Pals in the opening quarter helped the Hearts stay within 17-9. But Mt. Zion’s Lyncoln Koester knocked down a trio of shots from behind the arc and scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second period, as the Braves increased their advantage to 42-16 at intermission.
Heading into the final eight minutes, the hosts were on top, 57-19.
Pals led Effingham with nine points.
The Hearts are now 2-15 overall and 1-4 in the Apollo. They will be back in action tonight (Saturday) with a game at Robinson.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Less than five minutes into the game, Jeff Schafer had a decision to make.
Stay with his game plan or make a switch.
He decided to stick with the game plan.
As it turns out, he chose wisely.
A zone defense designed to help offset Mt. Zion’s height advantage proved effective the entire game. And a strong offensive performance in the final eight minutes helped the Effingham Lady Hearts gain control and come away with a big 43-33 Apollo Conference victory at home Saturday afternoon.
With 6’ Denver Anderson and 6’3” Jocelyn Turner anchoring Mt. Zion’s lineup, Schafer knew he needed to do something defensively to contain them.
“Our goal was to sandwich the big girl (Turner) and also cover the high post (Anderson),” Schafer explained. “We worked on it this week in practice and I thought they ran it to a ‘T’. The girls did such a good job today. I’m really proud of them.”
But at the 3:17 mark of the opening period, Turner had hit a short jumper, Anderson had turned an EHS turnover into a basket and Maddie Kendall had knocked down a long three, helping the Lady Braves to an early 9-4 lead.
“I thought about changing defenses,” Schafer admitted. “Things hadn’t started very well, but I remembered the game last year. We tried playing them man-to-man and that didn’t work out very well. So, I decided to stick to my guns.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The Olney (East Richland) Tigers are considered one of the top teams in the area and they showed why Tuesday night.
They knocked down four three-pointers in the opening period, built an early double-digit lead and were never threatened, finishing with a 52-26 victory at Effingham.
Ian Winkler connected on three of those shots from behind the arc and scored 13 points in the first eight minutes.
Olney held a slim 7-5 lead midway through that first quarter. But a three by Colby Redman sparked a scoring run. Winkler added two threes, including one in the final seconds, giving the Tigers a 20-7 advantage.
“Olney presents a big challenge because they have so many weapons,” said EHS coach Obie Farmer. “They have shooters and slashers, plus the big kid in the middle. They move the ball well and have a great knack for the game.
“They’re like a whack-a-mole,” Farmer added. “You take away one scorer and another one pops up.”
A jumper by Ethan Jones to open the second period got the Hearts within 11 points, but they never got any closer the rest of the way. Another three by Redman gave the Tigers a 17-point cushion, 30-13. It was a 16-point spread, 32-16, at intermission.
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