Effingham Wins Opener, T-town Unbeaten, Cumberland Beats Neoga

SALEM -- Effingham High School got on a scoring tear and ripped off a 72-43 win over Andrews Osborne Academy in its first game at the Salem Invitational Boys Basketball Tournament Thursday evening.

The Hearts started off with a bang, outscoring Andrews Osborne 29-13 in the opening quarter. Grant Wolfe and Brent Beals provided the one-two scoring punch as both nailed two trifectas and two regular baskets for 10 points each. Landon Wolfe chipped in with a three-pointer and two free throws.

Then it was Jacob Donaldson in the second period with seven points as the Hearts held a 46-25 halftime lead. G. Wolfe tallied seven more in the third period as the Hearts led 64-32 going into the final quarter.

EHS was led by three players in double figures. G. Wolfe led the way with 22 points while Beals tallied 16 and Donaldson 13. Wolfe nailed three trifectas while Beals put in two. The Hearts are now 14-2 on the season.

In the first game of the evening. Centralia captured a 44-21 victory over Mattoon.

Effingham will now take on Centralia at 8 p.m. today. Both the Hearts and Orphans are ranked in the top 10 of the latest Associated Press state poll. In the opening game, Edwardsville faces Troy Triad at 6:30. The winners of those two games advance to the championship game Saturday at 8 p.m. while the losers square off for third place at 5 p.m.

In other Saturday games, Mount Vernon faces Salem at 11:30 a.m. while Mattoon takes on Andrews Osborne at 1 in consolation bracket action. The winners advance to the consolation championship game at 6:30 p.m. while the losers face each other for seventh place at 4 p.m.

Salem Invitational

Game Four

EFFINGHAM (72)

L. Wolfe 3-2 -- 9, Huelsbusch 0-1 -- 1, Kreke 1-0 -- 3, Hull 2-2 -- 6, G. Wolfe 8-3 -- 22, Lohman 1-0 -- 2, Beals 6-2 -- 16, Donaldson 5-2 -- 13, Jackson 0-0 -- 0, Sandifer 0-0 -- 0, Hagler 0-0 -- 0, Smith 0-0 -- 0, Markman 0-0 -- 0, Petersen 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 26 FG, 12 FT.

ANDREWS OSBORNE (43)

McFee 0-1 -- 1, Chapman 5-0 -- 11, Dushime 1-0 -- 2, Sanchez 5-3 -- 13, Gil-Garcia 3-0 -- 6, Bugajny 0-0 -- 0, Chi 2-0 -- 4, Ohnana 1-0 -- 3, Spalevic 1-1 -- 3, Mitrovich 0-0 -- 0, Sevim 0-0 -- 0, Yang 0-0 -- 0, Smiwchak 0-0 -- 0, Adams 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 18 FG, 5 FT.

Efifngham                         29    17    18     8    --    72

Andrews Osborne            13    12      7    11    --    43

3-point FG -- Effingham 8 (G. Wolfe 3, Beals 2, L. Wolfe 1, Kreke 1, Donaldson 1), Andrews Osborne 2 (Chapman 1, Ohana 1).

Nashville Invitational Tournament

Teutopolis picked up its second victory in the Nashville Tournament by pounding Breese Mater Dei 68-38.

The two teams were knotted at 11-11 in the opening quarter but T-town went off for a 17-8 second period and outscored the Knights 40-19 in the second half.

Brant Bueker knocked in 21 points while Mitch Hardiek added 11 and Chris Ungrund 10. Ungrund led in rebounds with eight. Brant Bueker had three steals and two assists.

In the second contest, Breese Central beat Mascoutah 54-34.

T-town moves its mark to 2-0 while Breese Central stands at 3-0, Mascoutah 1-2, Nashville 0-2 and Breese Mater Dei 0-2.

Tonight's action finds Mater Dei against Mascoutah at 6:30 p.m. and Teutopolis taking on Nashville at 8. The tourney ends Saturday with Mater Dei against Nashville and Teutopolis meeting Breese Central at 8.

Nashville Tournament

Game Five

TEUTOPOLIS (68)

Bra. Bueker 8-1 -- 21, Bro. Bueker 2-1 -- 5, Mette 0-4 -- 4, Kremer 1-0 -- 2, L. Hardiek 0-0 -- 0, Ungrund 2-5 -- 10, M. Hardiek 5-0 -- 11, Deters 2-0 -- 4, Smith 0-2 -- 2, Belleville 3-2 -- 8, Weber 0-1 -- 1. TOTALS 22 FG, 16 FT.

BREESE MATER DEI (38)

Rensing 0-0 -- 0, Goebel 2-0 -- 5, Robben 2-0 -- 5, Theising 3-0 -- 6, Spears 1-0 -- 2, Gerdes 1-6 -- 8, Beckmann 2-0 -- 4, Boeckmann 1-0 -- 2, Toennies 3-0 -- 6. TOTALS 14 FG, 6 FT.

Teutopolis                       11    17    23    17    --    68

Breese Mater Dei            11     8    15       4    --    38

3-point FG -- Teutopolis 8 (Bra. Bueker 4, Ungrund 1, M. Hardiek 3), Breese Mater Dei 2 (Goebel 1, Robben 1).

At Toledo

Cumberland picked up a 59-44 non-conference boys basketball win over Neoga Thursday evening.

The Pirates stepped out to a 15-4 opening quarter lead and led 33-17 at halftime. Neoga came back with a 30-26 second half but couldn't overcome that opening quarter.

Three players scored in double figures for Cumberland. Zach Wolke, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, tallied 17 while Mike Wolke, a 6-foot-3 senior, had 16. Tyson Magee chipped in with 11.

Neoga was led by Drew Ramert with 12 and Caleb Hill with 10.

At Toledo

NEOGA (44)

Hill 2-5 -- 10, Cornell 1-0 -- 2, Milner 1-1 -- 4, Ramert 5-1 -- 12, Gresens 3-1 -- 7, Clark 2-1 -- 5, Butler 2-0 -- 4, Roy 0-0 -- 0, Fletcher 0-0 -- 0, Fritcher 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 16 FG, 9  FT.

CUMBERLAND (59)

Butler 2-2 -- 7, Magee 5-1 -- 11, Z. Wolke 7-3 -- 17, Grissom 1-0 -- 2, Hatfill 3-0 -- 6, M. Wolke 7-2 -- 16, Brown 0-0 -- 0, Willenborg 0-0 -- 0, Talley 0-0 -- 0, Mitchell 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 25 FG, 8 FT.

Neoga                       4    13    14    16    --    44

Cumberland            15    18    11    15    --    59

(Neoga linescore adds up to 47 while 44 listed as final)

3-point FG -- Neoga 3 (Hill 1, Milner 1, Ramert 1), Cumberland 1 (Butler 1).