Advance boys basketball picks up vengeful win on the road vs. Dexter

DEXTER, Mo. -- The state-ranked Advance boys basketball team entered Friday's contest against Dexter desperately in need of a win.

The Hornets, who had dropped three of four games for the first time this season, endured a tense ending but came away with the victory.

Clinging to a 65-62 lead, the Hornets got a defensive stop with 1 minute, 8 seconds remaining and followed with a pair of baskets to pad their lead.

Dexter scored at the buzzer, but it wasn't enough as Advance escaped with a 68-64 road win.

"It's a big win for us," Advance coach Bubby Wheetley said. "We needed to win because we've lost three out of the last four, including two up here last week. We still made too many turnovers and dumb mistakes at times, but we gutted it out. That's what it is going to take from here on out because we've got a lot more tough games ahead of us. That's what we want because the better teams we play, the better off we will be at the end of the year."

There was no shortage of offense in the up-and-down thriller.

All six Advance players that scored tallied at least nine points, and Dexter had three players record at least 12 points.

"Advance has six guys who can put it in the hole, and we did not do enough on the defensive end to win the ball game," Dexter coach Josh Dowdy said.

Both teams enjoyed leads in the first half.

Gabe Jackson scored three baskets and Ethan Flowers recorded back-to-back 3-pointers to help Dexter (10-10) build a 14-7 lead by the 3:06 mark of the first period.

Advance (17-5) erased the deficit by the close of the first quarter, which ended in a 17-17 tie, then took the lead in the second.

The Hornets built a 33-21 advantage -- their largest of the game -- with 3:38 left, but Dexter closed to within 36-34 by halftime.

"We did a good job sharing the ball," Wheetley said. "But we had a double-digit lead in the first half and came down and shot two or three quick 3s in a row, which let them back in the game again. I'm trying to get them to work the ball a little more. If we work the ball, we've got enough shooters that we will get a good look. Hopefully, we will get there by the end of the season. I don't know."

Advance extended its pressure defense beyond half-court early in the second half and got multiple transition layups in the third period.

The Hornets built a 51-40 advantage by the four-minute mark of the third period. Dexter followed with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 51-47, but Advance doubled the lead to 56-48 by the start of the fourth period.

Advance led 61-52 with 6:28 remaining and 65-58 with 4:31 left before a 3-pointer by Flowers and free throw by Jackson trimmed the margin to 65-62 with 2:21 left.

The Hornets called a timeout with 1:35 left, still leading 65-62. Dexter forced a turnover after the timeout but commited a turnover of its own with 1:08 remaining.

The Bearcats never got another chance to pull even.

"Pedigo and Mayo were able to create some key turnovers for us to get us back in the game," Dowdy said. "We just couldn't get over the hump."

Brian Whitson paced Advance with 16 points. He hit four of his team's nine 3-pointers.

Armani Vermillion scored 12 points. Preston Wuebker and Austin Ladd tallied 11 points. Dawson Mayo and Dalton Welty added nine more points for the Hornets.

"Dawson Mayo is a force inside and we had trouble containing him, whether it was on a rebound or how he passed the ball out when we helped down on him," Dowdy said about defending Advance. "He is a high-character kid on the court as well."

Flowers hit all five of Dexter's 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 22 points.

"Flowers was red-hot, and I wish we would have fed him more throughout the game," Dowdy said.

Jackson added 17 points for the Bearcats, while Jacob Pedigo finished with 12 points.

"We've been working hard on our press," Wheetley said. "We got some turnovers, but we gave up some easy buckets as well. Our half-court defense gives up the high-low. But I think we did end up out-rebounding them tonight. That was the difference because they out-rebounded us by 12 rebounds when we played them last Friday. Most of the time, if you can win the rebounding battle, you come out on top."

Advance 17 19 20 12 -- 68

Dexter 17 17 14 16 -- 64

ADVANCE (68) -- Armani Vermillion 12, Dakota Welty 9, Preston Wuebker 11, Brian Whitson 16, Austin Ladd 11, Dawson Mayo 9. FG 28, FT 3-6, F 9. (3-pointers: Whitson 4, Wuebker 3, Vermillion 1, Welty 1. Fouled out: none).

DEXTER (64) -- Jason Jarrell 6, Jacob Pedigo 12, Ethan Flowers 22, Ryan Mayo 7, Gabe Jackson 17. FG 27, FT 5-7, F 6. (3-pointers: Flowers 5. Fouled out: none).