By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Obie Farmer was concerned about playing a morning game Saturday.
“I’ve had some experience coaching morning games,” he said. “Whatever team shows up with the most energy is going to have the advantage. That’s just the way morning games are and we kept reminding the guys about that.”
Those reminders must have worked.
Despite playing a fourth game in three days, the Effingham Flaming Hearts did have plenty of energy and dominated from the opening tip. They built a quick early lead and rolled to a 76-47 victory over Chicago Brooks in their final game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
The Hearts finished 2-2 in the tourney and earned a seventh place finish in the 16-team field.
“We were ready to go from the very beginning, but I sure didn’t expect a lopsided game,” Farmer noted. “We prepared like it would be a battle all the way to the end. We had the kids watch film on Brooks so they could see what to expect. And then we went out and played very well.”
Nate Thompson got a tip-in basket just nine seconds into the game. It was just the beginning of a monster game for the 6’5” junior forward. He had eight points in the opening quarter, Parker Wolfe had a pair of 3-pointers and Brayden Pals added another from long range, helping the Hearts build a 17-3 lead after the first eight minutes.
Here are the scores from all games Friday:
St. Anthony 70, Mattoon 63 (overtime)
Antioch 44, Charleston 43
Teutopolis 62, Lawrenceville 30
Sacred Heart Griffin 73, Dixon 52
Lincoln Way East 49, Pleasant Plains 38
Champaign Centennial 46, Central A&M 40
Oak Lawn 61, Chicago Brooks 46
Chicago Corliss 55, Effingham 34
Teutopolis 62, St. Anthony 49
Sacred Heart Griffin 61, Antioch 48
Lawrenceville 75, Mattoon 72
Pleasant Plains 44, Chicago Brooks 42
Charleston 69, Dixon 66
Central A&M 75, Effingham 51
Lincoln Way East 70, Oak Lawn 67
Chicago Corliss 48, Champaign Centennial 29
Here is the schedule for Saturday (all games will be played at Effingham High School):
10 a.m. – Mattoon vs. Dixon (auxiliary gym for 15th place)
10 a.m. – St. Anthony vs. Antioch (main gym for 11th place)
11:30 a.m. – Lawrenceville vs. Charleston (auxiliary gym for 13th place)
11:30 a.m. – Effingham vs. Chicago Brooks (main gym for 7th place)
3 p.m. – Central A&M vs. Pleasant Plains (5th place game)
4:30 p.m. – Teutopolis vs. Sacred Heart Griffin (consolation championship)
6 p.m. – Oak Lawn vs. Champaign Centennial (3rd place game)
7:30 p.m. – Chicago Corliss vs. Lincoln Way East (championship game)
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The Effingham Flaming Hearts got typical performances from two of their starters, but also received valuable contributions from two “pups” Thursday night in their 78-75 overtime victory over Sacred Heart Griffin in a first-round game of the 7th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
Parker Wolfe and Nate Thompson combined to score 57 points, while sophomore Brayden Pals came off the bench to score nine, all in the fourth quarter, and freshman Garrett Wolfe turned in some valuable minutes replacing Drew Thompson, who was injured during the game. (He went to have his foot examined, but his status for the remainder of the tournament is unknown.)
Pals’ first points came after grabbing a rebound and scoring with 5:31 left in regulation to give EHS a 56-54 lead. About a minute later, the 6’5” forward connected on a three from the corner that put the Hearts up by four, 61-57.
In the final 90 seconds, Pals made four straight free throws, including a pair that knotted the game at 70-70 with 19 ticks remaining. After a Sacred Heart Griffin turnover, Pals almost ended the game, but his short put-back rolled off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The Effingham Hearts ran into a pair of quick, talented basketball teams Friday and dropped two games in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
The Hearts opened the day with a 55-34 setback to Chicago Corliss, who will be seeking its second tournament title in three years.
Effingham then tangled with Central A&M, the state’s top-ranked Class 1A team, and was on the short end of a 75-51 decision.
The Hearts will now face Chicago Brooks at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the seventh place game. All games Saturday will be played at Effingham High School.
EHS got 14 first-half points from Nate Thompson and trailed Central A&M by just seven points, 32-25. But the Raiders outscored the Hearts 43-26 in the second half to pull away.
A pair of three-pointers by Griffin Andricks and another by Brycen Burgener helped the Raiders expand their halftime lead to 13 points, 41-28. All-stater Connor Heaton then scored seven points in the final two minutes to send A&M into the final eight minutes with a 56-42 advantage.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For much of the game, Effingham seemed on the verge of pulling away and possibly turning the game into a blowout.
But Newton simply wouldn’t let that happen.
The Hearts led by as many as 18 points in the first half, but the Eagles twice battled back to within five in the final 16 minutes.
But Drew Thompson pumped in 12 fourth-quarter points and EHS made eight straight free throws down the stretch to secure a 73-60 decision at home Saturday afternoon.
Effingham entered the fourth period with a nine-point edge, 54-45, and was on top by double digits, 61-51, after a 3-pointer by Drew Thompson. But Mitchell Zumbahlen hit a three and Evan Schafer converted one of the Hearts seven final quarter turnovers into a pair of free throws. With 3:07 to play, the Eagles were within five at 61-56.
EHS then responded well, scoring the next eight points. Parker Wolfe had a basket and two free throws, and Drew Thompson did the same, expanding the Hearts lead to 69-56, with 1:25 remaining. Both Nate and Drew Thompson hit two more free throws in the final 61 seconds and the Eagles were unable to get any closer than 11.
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