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STATESMAN TOP 10: Advance secures first outright SCAA championship in years
EDITOR'S NOTE: Beginning this week, the Dexter Statesman will count down the 10 best high school games from the 2020-21 school year. We will feature a game each week. The criteria for a game to make the list include competitiveness and meaning of the game. A game must involve a team(s) from Stoddard County and must have been covered first-hand by the Statesman or Semoball.com.
The Advance Hornets learned their lessons from their loss to Dexter in the SCAA Basketball Tournament.
The Hornets gave up a 12-point fourth-quarter lead to Dexter and lost the championship game 43-42 on Jan. 30 at Bloomfield.
Six days later at the Bearcat Event Center, the Hornets held off Dexter in the final quarter and recorded a 72-65 victory to capture their first outright SCAA regular-season championship in at least 13 years. The MSHSAA website features only detailed history since the 2008-09 season.
The Hornets shared the title with Bernie in 2012-13 and Bloomfield in 2015-16.
“Our defense played well all night,” Advance coach Bubba Wheetley said. “We made shots and we took care of the ball better and we made free throws. Those free throws down the stretch (were) the difference. It was a great game.”
Advance, who went seven for seven from the free-throw line in the final quarter, led through most of the game, leading by as many as 14 in the third.
“We got down early, and we got down early big,” Dexter coach Chad Allen said. “They really stretched that lead (out) on us. We’re going to have to get back in the gym and learn to guard in the right spots. We’re just going to drill it, drill it in practice because defensively we’re going to have to get better. To give up 72 points is unacceptable.”
The Bearcats (17-4, 5-1 SCAA) kept fighting back and eventually overtook Advance (17-4 , 7-0) midway through the fourth quarter. Jackson Allen’s 3-pointer cut Advance’s lead to 59-56 — its smallest lead since 29-27 in the second quarter.
Dexter caught a break seconds later when a full-court pass was overthrown, but it bounced off official Jim Vaughan and remained inbounds. Peyton Driskill scooped up the ball and scored to cut the lead to 59-58.
Ryder Boles drove inside, drew a foul and sank both free throws to give the Bearcats a 60-59 lead, but it was short-lived because senior Landon Dailey produced a three-point play to give Advance a 62-60 lead.
Dailey initiated a 9-0 run to extend the Hornets’ advantage to 68-60. Dexter never came closer than five points the rest of the way behind a strong finish by Dailey, who scored 13 of his game-high 28 points, including a 7-for-7 showing from the free-throw line, in the fourth.
“He stepped up. That’s senior leadership right there,” Wheetley said, “but all the kids played well. I’m proud of these kids. They finally took care of the basketball in this game and it was the difference. Dexter’s a good team. Sometimes, I wondered how we stayed in the game with them because they handle the ball good, they shoot the ball good, they defend well.”
Both teams excelled from the perimeter, as they combined for 20 3-pointers. The Bearcats converted on 27% (10 of 37) of their attempts, and Advance finished 10 for 29 (34%).
The Hornets received big nights from guards Colton Silman, who made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and Hayden Hitt, who scored 15 points, including a team-high five 3-pointers.
“Like I said (after the SCAA tournament), my guards have got to step up and start doing better,” Wheetley said. “They did tonight. They really did. Hitt, Silman — of course I call him Pistol Pete (because) he can shoot — made some big shots.”
The Bearcats’ Andrew Ellinghouse sank a team-high four 3-pointers and scored a club-best 18 points. Boles scored 16 points with two 3-pointers and Driskill added 13 points.
The Bearcats grabbed the early lead behind 3-pointers by Allen and Boles, but Advance began connecting and shot into the lead.
Boles’ 3-pointer gave Dexter a 6-2 lead and Silman’s 3 sliced lead to one.
Carter Dorton found Driskill open for a basket, restoring Dexter’s three-point lead.
Silman scored on a driving layup to slice his team’s deficit to one and followed with a 3-pointer to give the Hornets their first lead of the game (10-8).
Dailey added a three-point play, and Wuebker and Hitt made consecutive 3-pointers to give Advance a 19-8 lead.
After a Dexter timeout, Dylan Sitze sank a 3 to end the Hornets’ 14-0 run and set the score at 19-11 heading to the second quarter.
Hitt made two early 3-pointers in the second, extending the lead to 29-16, but the Bearcats staged an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 29-27.
Jaren Schrader sank a jumper in the lane and Dailey drove inside for a layup, ending the rally and giving the Hornets a 33-27 halftime lead.
“They got the ball inside way too much,” Allen said. “Either they would score by getting the ball inside to the post or they would get kick-outs for 3s. Advance definitely shot the ball well from the perimeter tonight. You’ve got to give them credit because they came ready to play. They played an unbelievable game.”
Advance opened the second half with a 14-6 run to take a 47-33 lead, but the Bearcats countered with a 17-7 rally to close the deficit to 54-50 by quarter’s end on a mid-range jumper by Riley Slusher.