Hearts Win, Bulldogs Lose; Both Teams 1-1 Heading Into Friday Night Tangle

The Friday night battle between the Effingham Hearts and the St. Anthony Bulldogs at the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament took on some added luster after an Effingham win and a St. Anthony loss Wednesday night.

Effingham scored the first 19 points to beat Tolono Unity 66-32, while Highland took a 21-point lead and then held on for an eight-point win over St. Anthony 59-51. Both games were heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

(PARKER WOLFE)

The action leaves both the Hearts and the Bulldogs at 1-1 on the young season headed into their matchup Friday at 7:30pm at the Enlow Center. That game will be heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com, but will also be videotaped and posted later on our social media sites.

Effingham roared out of the gate and led 19-0 before Tolono Unity scored the final five points of the first quarter. The Hearts really kicked it into gear in the second period, outscoring the Rockets 32-11 to lead 51-16 at halftime.

The Hearts led 64-25 after three quarters, meaning the fourth quarter was played under a continuous clock. Under new IHSA guidelines, if a team is ahead or gets ahead by 30 or more points in the fourth quarter, the remainder of the game will be played under a continuous clock. Effingham only scored two points in the fourth quarter, taking just five shots.

Even with a 1-for-6 fourth quarter, Effingham shot 59% from the field, making 24 of 41 shots including eight of 12 threes. The Hearts were also 10-of-14 from the line, committed 14 turnovers, and grabbed 28 rebounds, double the Unity total for the game.

Unity made just 11 of 48 shots including 4 of 20 threes. They did make all five of their foul shots, committed 12 turnovers and pulled down 14 rebounds.

Landon Wolfe led Effingham with 22 points on 9-of-14 shots and grabbed six rebounds. Parker Wolfe scored 18 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 from the line along with four rebounds. Nate Thompson, who moved into the starting lineup, was also in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Also for Effingham: Tate Niebrugge 5, Drew Thompson 5, Cole Marxman 4 with 7 rebounds, and Tristin Duncan 2. Other rebounds for Effingham: Jacob Stoneburner 4, Jacob Briggerman 2, Ben Donsbach 2, and Wyatt Jones, Dylan Bushur, Nate Thompson, Drew Thompson, Dylan Ritz and Aiden Beck.

Hank Cain scored 10 points to lead Tolono Unity. Also for the Rockets: Brady Porter 8, Karson Ewerks 5, Jared Routh 3, Evan Miebach 2, Jake Crouse 2, and J.P. Bowers 2.

Unity is now 0-2 on the week and the young season.

St. Anthony Tournament

Game Seven

TOLONO UNITY (32)

Powell 0-0 -- 0, Cain 4-0 -- 10, Bowers 1-0 -- 2, Miebach 0-2 -- 2, Routh 1-1 -- 3, Porter 2-3 -- 8, Chalmers 0-0 -- 0, Jones 0-0 -- 0, Crouse 1-0 -- 2, Innes 0-0 -- 0, Ewerks 2-0 -- 5. TOTALS 11 FG, 6 FT.

EFFINGHAM (66)

Niebrugge 2-0 -- 5, P. Wolfe 5-5 -- 18, L. Wolfe 9-2 -- 22, Bushur 0-0 -- 0, D. Thompson 2-1 -- 5, Ritz 0-0 -- 0, Kalber 0-0 -- 0, N. Thompson 4-0 -- 10, Duncan 1-0 -- 2, Donsbach 0-0 -- 0, Stoneburnter 0-0 -- 0, Briggerman 0-0 -- 0, Marxman 1-2 -- 4, Greene 0-0 -- 0, Beck 0-0 -- 0, Jones 0-0 -- 0, S. Thompson 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 24 FG, 10 FT.

Tolono Unity                5    11      9    7    --    32

Effingham                  19    32    13    2    --    66

3-point FG -- Tolono Unity 4 (Cain 2, Porter 1, Ewerks 1), Effingham 8 (P. Wolfe 3, L. .Wolfe 2, N. Thompson 2, Niebrugge 1).

HIGHLAND 59, ST. ANTHONY 51

Highland appeared to have the game salted away after moving ahead by 21 points and by 19 points heading into the fourth quarter. St. Anthony wasn't done, though. St. Anthony outscored Highland 19-8 in the final period and got within six before falling by eight.

(KADEN FEARDAY)

St. Anthony made 37% of its shots, 19 of 52, including 8-of-18 threes. St. Anthony made 5-of-6 foul shots, turned the ball over just 10 times, and grabbed 20 rebounds.

Highland shot 56% from the field, 22 of 39, including 4-of-10 threes. Highland made 10 of 15 foul shots, turned the ball over 13 times, and grabbed 33 rebounds.

Kaden Fearday led St. Anthony with 14 points and Alex Brandenburger came off the bench to add 10 points. Also for St. Anthony: Jack Hoene 7, Jaccob Dust 6, Logan Antrim 6, Jack Elder 4, Luke Ludwig 2, and Bryson Wall 2. Rebounds for St. Anthony: Dust 5, Ludwig 4, Fearday 3, Wall 2, Brandenburger 2, Elder 2, Hoene and Antrim.

Sam LaPorta led Highland with 21 points and Stephen Torre scored 13 points. Also for Highland: Brady Feldman 9, Jake Kruse 7, Jack Etter 5, Jacob Willis 2 and Brylee Portell 2.

Highland is now 2-0 in the tournament and on the season.

In the other contest Wednesday, Mattoon beat Breese Central 58-49.

At the end of play Wednesday, Highland and Mattoon are each 2-0, Effingham, St. Anthony, Breese Central and Robinson are each 1-1, and Tolono Unity and Okaw Valley are each 0-2.

Here's the Friday schedule: 3pm--Tolono Unity vs. Highland....4:30pm--Okaw Valley vs. Mattoon...6pm--Breese Central vs. Robinson...7:30pm--St. Anthony vs. Effingham

St. Anthony Tournament

ST. ANTHONY (51)

Hoene 2-2 -- 7, Milleville 0-0 -- 0, Brandenburger 4-0 -- 10, Ludwig 1-0 -- 2, Webb 0-0 -- 0, Elder 2-0 -- 4, Fearday 5-1 -- 14, Wall 1-0 -- 2, Antrim 2-1 -- 6, Dust 2-1 -- 6. TOTALS 19 FG, 5 FT.

HIGHLAND (59)

Etter 1-3 -- 5, Kruse 2-2 -- 7, LaPorta 9-3 -- 21, Torre 6-0 -- 13, Feldman 2-3 -- 9, Willis 1-0 -- 2, Portell 1-0 -- 2, Kassey 0-0 -- 0, Frohm 0-0 -- 0, Destringer 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 22 FG, 11 FT.

St. Anthony             7    10    15    19    --    51

Highland                 8    16    27      8    --    59

3-point FG -- St. Anthony 8 (Fearday 3, Brandenburger 2, Hoene 1, Antrim 1, Dust 1), Highland 4 (Feldman 2, Torre 1, Kruse 1).