CHARLESTON — Obie Farmer put it best when he summed up his Effingham team’s performance against Charleston on Monday evening.
“We just made too many losing plays,” Farmer said. “We struggled handling a bit of the pressure, and things didn’t open up for us.”
The Flaming Hearts fell to the Trojans, 64-34, in the Class 3A Charleston Regional Quarterfinals at Baker Gym in Coles County. It was the fourth time that both teams had squared off against one another this season. They met twice during the regular season, once at the Effingham/Teutopolis Christmas Classic, and then again on Monday.
“The fourth time playing them, we got a pretty good idea of who they are. But it doesn’t matter; they hit a lot of shots, and they did what they do on defense, and we couldn’t get anything to fall,” Farmer said. “That’s the kind of game you get when you can’t get anything going offensively, and they’re hitting all the shots in the world on their end.”
Charleston jumped out to a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Adam Rudibaugh had six of his team’s 13 points. He finished with 10 for the game.
“He’s more of an attacker than a shooter,” said Farmer of Rudibaugh, who played the last three seasons at St. Anthony. “Regardless, we tried to be physical with him and not let him go anywhere; he was just a little too quick. When we tried to rotate over, they were running him off curls and screens, and it caused other people to have to switch on to him, and that’s when they took advantage.”
Tyler Oakley led the Trojans with 23 points. Luke Bonstetter had 17. Luke Nelson had five. Two others finished with three, one with two, and another with one.
Charleston hit 10 three-pointers in the contest, as well.
The Trojans led 36-18 at the break, 55-27 at the end of the third, and outscored Effingham 9-7 in the fourth.
Rylan Pals led the Hearts with seven points. Cole Phillips had six. Nolan Fearday had five. Cannon Bockhorn had four. Ethan Jones had three. Max Buzzard, KJ Kellams, and Hayden Wendling had two, and Adam Flack had one.
Effingham only graduates one varsity member from the team.
Farmer talked about Spencer Fox, who has been sidelined since December due to an injury, after the contest.
“He’s been hurt since last baseball season. I don’t know if it was overuse, but he got hurt and stuck it out,” Farmer said. “He wanted to help his team; he’s not a kid that’s going to quit. That’s a testament to Jason and Jennifer, raising their kids that way. He showed up every day and was like another assistant coach.”
Below are area boys basketball results from Monday.
Effingham (St. Anthony) 105, Ramsey 27
St. Anthony defeated Ramsey in a regional quarterfinal of the Class 1A St. Anthony Sectional, 105-27, at the Enlow Center.
Brock Fearday had 31 points. Collin Westendorf had 21. Ryan Schmidt had 15. Henry Brent and Nick Ruholl each had seven. Aiden Lauritzen had five. Miles Waldhoff and Keenan Griffith had three each, and Brady Hatton had two.
The Bulldogs led 30-6 after the first quarter, 53-13 at halftime, 83-24 at the end of the third, and outscored Ramsey 22-3 in the fourth.
Altamont 78, Mulberry Grove 39
Altamont defeated Mulberry Grove in a regional quarterfinal of the Class 1A St. Anthony Sectional, 78-39, at Altamont High School.
Kaidyn Miller had 18 points. Alec Jahraus had 17. Eli Miller had 11. Ben Roedl had 10. Kaden Davis had nine. Tyler Ruffner and Kade Milleville had four each. Brayden Elam had three, and Zach Meyer had two.
Altamont led 20-7 after the first quarter, 44-16 at halftime, and 65-29 at the end of the third. The Indians outscored Mulberry Grove 13-10 in the fourth.
Nokomis 64, Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg 34
Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg fell to Nokomis in a regional quarterfinal of the Class 1A St. Anthony Sectional, 64-34, at Nokomis High School.
Jackson Gurgel had 13 points. Nathaniel Gracey had eight. Connor Manhart had six. Brody Hendrickson had four, and Aiden Sayers had three.
The Hatchets trailed 16-7 after the first quarter, 33-15 at halftime, 56-27 at the end of the third, and were outscored 8-7 in the fourth.
Arcola 52, Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 41
Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City fell to Arcola in a regional quarterfinal of the Class 1A St. Anthony Sectional, 52-41, at Arcola High School.
AJ Radloff had 13 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Wyatt Rueff had nine points, three rebounds, and two assists. Clayton Wojcik had nine points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Gage Lorton had six points, six rebounds, one assist, and two steals. Kaidyn Calame had three points and one rebound, and Hunter Pope had one point and one rebound.
CHBC trailed 15-9 after the first quarter, 24-18 at halftime, and 38-28 at the end of the third. The Bobcats were outscored 14-13 in the fourth.
St. Elmo/Brownstown 58, Patoka/Odin 45
St. Elmo/Brownstown defeated Patoka/Odin in a regional quarterfinal of the Class 1A St. Anthony Sectional, 58-45, at St. Elmo High School.
Cade Schaub had 19 points (8-for-11 shooting), three rebounds, and four steals. Adam Atwood had 14 points (6-for-10), eight rebounds, and two assists. Brody Mason had nine points (3-for-5), three rebounds, one block, and one assist. Lowell Wilhour had seven points (3-for-5), one rebound, two steals, and one assist. Josiah Maxey had six points (2-for-5), one rebound, three steals, and seven assists, and Collin Maxey had three points (1-for-5), one rebound, one steal, one block, and seven assists.
Louisville (North Clay) 62, Farina (South Central) 53
North Clay defeated South Central in a regional quarterfinal of the Class 1A St. Anthony Sectional, 62-53, at North Clay High School.
Carder Walden had 21 points. Mason Byers had 18. Ethan Kuenstler had 14. Gavin Hosselton had five, and Jesse Weidner had four for the Cardinals.
Westin Neilson and Seth Bergmann had 14 each. Max Magnus had 11. Kage Hiestand had nine, and Jacob Smith had five for the Cougars.
South Central led 23-14 at the end of the first quarter and 31-30 at halftime. North Clay led 48-38 at the end of the third. The Cougars outscored the Cardinals 15-14 in the fourth.