Hearts Nab Victory, Bulldogs Suffer Close Loss at Own Boys Thanksgiving Tourney

In the opener, Mattoon easily handled HIghland, 63-30.

In the second game, Effingham picked up its first win in the tourney by beating Robinson, 62-54.

The Hearts jumped out to a 14-5 opening quarter lead as Garrett Wolfe knocked down two three-pointers, Andrew Splechter connected on a three and a free throw for four and Jett Volpi hit two free throws and a basket for four.

The Hearts held a 21-17 halftime lead as Robinson came back with a 12-7 second period. Wolfe tacked on two more baskets for the Hearts.

In the third period, EHS got back on a roll with a 20-16 run to lead 41-33 going into the final quarter. This time around it was Brayden Pals who got on a hot streak, connecting on five baskets that included two three-pointers and was two of two at the line for 14 points.

Splechter then took over the final period with three baskets and five free throws for 11 and the Hearts remained even with the Maroons at 21-21.

Splechter finished with 19 to lead EHS while Pals added 16 and Wolfe 13. Volpi was on the verge of double figures with nine.

In the final game of the evening, the Bulldogs fought all the way to the end but just fell short against Breese Central by a 53-50 count.

St. Anthony started strong heading out to a 17-7 opening quarter lead. Craig Croy tallied eight in the opening quarter run with three baskets that included a trifecta and one of two at the line.

St. Anthony held a 25-18 halftime lead as Breese Central came back with an 11-8 second period.

Breese Central continued its barrage with a 19-17 third period to pull within 42-37 heading into the final quarter.

The Cougars then finished strong with a 17-8 run to pull out the win. But the Bulldogs fought to the end attempting to get a shot with 2.6 seconds on the clock but couldn't get off that three-pointer to tie the score.

Croy finished with 24 points to lead St. Anthony. He connected on eight baskets that included four three-pointers and was four of six at the line. Also in double figures was Kyle Stewart with 10.

Brady Moore led Breese Central with 19.

Teutopolis, Mattoon and Breese Central all sport 2-0 records while Effingham and Robinson are 1-1. St. Anthony, Highland and Rantoul are all 0-2.

The tournament continues Friday with Robinson taking on Breese Cenral at 3 p.m. followed by Teutopolis against Mattoon at 4:30, Rantoul facing Highland at 6 and Effingham squaring off against St. Anthony at 7:30.

St. Anthony Turkey Tournament

Game Seven

EFFINGHAM (62)

Volpi 2-4 -- 9, Wolfe 5-1 -- 13, Ritz 0-0 -- 0, Splechter 5-7 -- 19, D. Fox 0-5 -- 5, Pals 6-2 -- 16. TOTALS 18 FG, 19 FT.

ROBINSON (54)

Loll 6-2 -- 14, Pinkston 0-0 -- 0, Thompson 0-0 -- 0, B. Oll 0-0 -- 0, Schmidt 3-0 -- 9, Weber 0-0 -- 0, King 2-0 -- 4, Jackson 5-5 -- 15, Wernz 1-0 -- 2, N. Gilmore 5-0 -- 10, Rawlings 0-0 -- 0, I. Gilmore 0-0 -- 0. TOTASL 22 FG, 7 FT.

Effingham             14      7    20    21    --    62

Robinson               5    12    16    21    --    54

3-point FG -- Effingham 7 (Wolfe 2, Splechter 2, Pals 2, Volpi 1), Robinson 3 (Schmidt 3).

Game Eight

BREESE CENTRAL (53)

Dickshot 2-5 -- 9, Hamon 0-0 -- 0, Shubert 3-3 -- 9, Boruff 2-4 -- 9, Schrage 0-0 -- 0, Stubhart 2-1 -- 5, Moore 8-2 -- 19, Lewis 1-0 -- 2, Kampwerth 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 18 FG, 15 FT.

ST. ANTHONY (50)

Rudibaugh 2-0 -- 4, Willenborg 1-0 -- 2, Stewart 4-2 -- 10, Levitt 1-0 -- 2, Sehy 1-0 -- 3, Croy 8-4 -- 24, Koenig 0-1 -- 1, Martelli 0-0 -- 0, Fearday 2-0 -- 4, Hoene 0-0 -- 0. TOTALS 19 FG, 7 FT.

Breese Central            7    11    19    16    --    53

St. Anthony               17      8    17      8    --    50

3-point FG -- Breese Central 2 (Bourff 1, Moore 1), St. Anthony 5 (Croy 4, Sehy 1).