Hearts Go OT to Beat Mt. Vernon at Salem

The Effingham Hearts, on a night when shots weren't falling, battled into overtime to beat the Mt. Vernon Rams 54-52. The action at the Salem Invitational Tournament was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

Hearts Coach Obie Farmer said he told his team they posted a tough win on a night "when they couldn't throw it in the ocean." He also said, "Defense travels", and it was the Hearts' defense that led to the win Wednesday.

It was a battle throughout the game with neither team leading by more than seven points. Mt. Vernon clung to a 13-11 lead after one quarter and led the Hearts 25-22 at halftime. It was 37-35 Rams after three quarters before the Hearts outscored Mt. Vernon 14-12 in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

The Hearts outscored the Rams 5-3 in the overtime period to capture the win. Nate Thompson hit a huge three-pointer in the extra period to put the Hearts in front to stay.

Every player had a huge part to play in the win. Landon Wolfe battled through a tough shooting night and a triple-team defense at some points to score 18 points. Wolfe finished with a double-double, also grabbing 10 rebounds. Cole Marxman just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards, along with blocked shots and a thunderous dunk to begin the scoring. Parker Wolfe was held scoreless through the first three quarters, then scored 10 points in the fourth period to keep the game alive to the overtime period. In addition to the big three-pointer, Nate Thompson totaled eight points with eight rebounds and played some great interior defense, getting his hands on numerous passes and blocking shots. Drew Thompson hit two threes and Tate Niebrugge, the only player off the bench to get into the action Wednesday, made two big foul shots.

Effingham made just 18 of 54 shots, 33%, including six of 19 threes. Mt. Vernon made 18 of 53 shots, 34%, including 4 of 19 threes. Effingham made 13 of 20 foul shots, while Mt. Vernon sank 12 of 17. In a rock em, sock em ballgame, Effingham turned the ball over just seven times to 10 miscues for Mt. Vernon. The Rams outrebounded the Hearts 36-31.

Weston Brockhouse had a huge game for Mt. Vernon with 17 points and 18 rebounds, while Amir Spann scored 15 points with 10 rebounds.

Effingham improved to 9-9 on the season, having gone 7-2 after a 2-7 start. Mt. Vernon is now 11-6 on the campaign.

The Hearts advance to semifinal play Friday at 6:30pm against East St. Louis. The Flyers beat Troy Triad 76-43 in the first game Wednesday. Mt. Vernon will take on Triad at 11:30am Saturday.

Thursday night will feature the other two quarterfinal games. Teutopolis will play Centralia at 6:30pm in a game you can hear on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. The nightcap will feature Salem and Thornton Fractional North at 8pm.

Salem Tournament

PANA (30)

Schoonover 8-5 -- 21, Denton 2-0 -- 5, Ashcraft 1-0 -- 2, Hamilton 1-0 -- 2, Keller 0-0 -- 0, Weideman 0-0 -- 0, Freeman 0-0 -- 0, Hocq 0-0 -- 0, Beck 0-0 -- 0 Rochkes 0-0 -- 0, Edwards 0-0 -- 0, Lehman 0-0 -- 0, Holthaus 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 12 FG, 5 FT.

EFFINGHAM (56)

Fearday 8-2 -- 18, Weis 5-0 -- 13, Schafer 2-4 -- 9, Fox 3-1 -- 9, Carey 0-4 -- 4, Herboth 1-0 -- 3, Kuhlman 0-0 -- 0, Bushcer 0-0 -- 0, Armstrong 0-0 -- 0, Feldhake 0-0 -- 0, Koester 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 19 FG, 11 FT.

Pana                       6      8      7      9    --    30

Effingham            14    10    16    16    --    56

3-point FG -- Pana 1 (Denton 1), Effingham 7 (Weis 3, Fox 2, Schafer 1, Herboth 1).