Isaac McWhorter converted an Effingham turnover into a basket, Niebrugge hit another jumper and Drew Hoene added a pair of foul shots, as the Shoes ended the period on a 15-0 surge and took a 42-27 lead into the final eight minutes.

“I liked the fact that when we got down 7-0 at the beginning of the game, we fought back,” Hearts coach Mack Thompson noted. “But we didn’t respond as well in the second half. I felt like we got quick on the offensive end, and when we didn’t make shots, we also let up on the defensive end.”

The scoring drought continued in the fourth quarter for Effingham. But not for T-Town.

Hoene and Niebrugge opened the fourth period with a pair of baskets and Kremer scored five straight points to complete the 24-0 run and make the score 51-27.

Finally, with 2:37 to play, Jake Niebrugge turned in a three-point play for the Hearts. During that dry spell, Effingham missed 17 consecutive shots and had seven turnovers.

“We started settling for the first look we got,” Thompson said. “We had a few shots that were open, but we were pretty quick in our possessions. I like the fact that we fight and battle, but we’ve got to play better than that.”

“I credit our defense,” Reeder noted. “We locked in and the boys kept the people they were guarding in front of them.

“And we finished possessions,” Reeder added. “We didn’t give up offensive rebounds and we quit turning the ball over. Our effort and our play were much better the second half.”

The first half was a different game.

The Shoes did jump out to a 7-0 lead. But the Hearts, after missing their first six shots and turning the ball over eight times, got on the board when Cole Phillips hit a jumper. By the end of the first period, Effingham had closed to within 11-9.

A three-pointer by Jake Niebrugge gave EHS its first lead of the game, 12-11. Later, back-to-back threes by KJ Kellams and Jude Traub put the Hearts on top 17-13. And with just under three minutes left in the first half, a bucket by Nolan Fearday gave Effingham its biggest lead of the game, 22-17.

Kremer then hit a short jumper and Hoene connected from long range and added a free throw to put the hosts back on top. But a long three by Traub just ahead of the buzzer sent the Hearts to the locker room with a 25-23 advantage.

“I thought we let things get away from us that final minute and a half,” Thompson said. “We didn’t finish our possessions. I know Jude hit that shot and we had the lead, but I felt they had the momentum going into halftime. We’ve got to finish each quarter better than that.”

Reeder was fixated on the nine turnovers his team committed in the first half.

“We gave them too many additional opportunities,” he noted. “They started hitting some shots and we gave them nine extra possessions by turning the ball over.

“I thought we got refocused at halftime and played better the second half,” Reeder added. “They started helping their teammates by getting open and we stopped pre-determining too often and began making the right reads on offense. We weren’t relentless enough that first half.”

The Hearts were led in scoring by Jake Niebrugge and Traub, who both had eight points. Effingham made 14-of-41 shots, a 34 percent clip. They were 5-for-15 from behind the arc and 1-for-6 at the foul line. The Hearts finished with 20 turnovers.

The Hearts are now 3-8 overall. They will return to action Friday, traveling to Charleston for an Apollo Conference contest. Effingham is 2-1 in league play.

Kremer and Hoene shared game-high scoring honors with 16 points each. The Shoes shot 49 percent from the floor, connecting on 18-of-37 attempts. They were 5-for-17 from long range and 15-for-24 at the free throw line. T-Town held a 27-15 rebounding edge, with Mick Niebrugge pulling down nine, and committed 14 turnovers.

The Shoes improved to 6-2 on the season. They will play Saturday in the Sullivan Shootout. They will face Pinckneyville at 2:30 p.m.