Advance boys basketball team bests Oran again to win district title

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Advance coach Bubba Wheetley mandates a certain kind of energy from his team every time it steps on the court.

But even Wheetley couldn't believe what he was seeing in the first quarter of Thursday night's Class 1 District 2 championship game at Bell City High School.

The second-seeded Hornets jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the first eight minutes and never trailed, claiming their second consecutive district crown with a 66-49 win over top-seeded Oran.

"It felt awesome," Advance junior Austin Ladd said about the first quarter. "I could tell the whole team was just up and ready to play. We all wanted to win so bad, and we got here."

The game marked the fifth consecutive district title game between Advance (16-10) and Oran (19-9). The Eagles won the first three of those meetings, but the Hornets have claimed the latter two.

Advance senior Dalton Wilson said his team has grown to expect a district title.

"We had this goal in mind," Wilson said. "We went out and did it, and it just feels even better than last year."

Ladd hauled in an offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer from Brian Whitson and secured the putback to give the Hornets their first points of the game with 6:58 left in the opening period. The basket triggered an 18-2 run for Advance before Oran cut its deficit to 13 points in the final minute of the quarter.

Oran's Jacob Priggel gets a shot off in the first quarter against Advance during the Class 1 District 2 championship Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 in Bell City, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

"I told them before the game, 'You can't get too high, and you can't get too low because we're going to have some ups and downs in this game.' And we did," Wheetley said. "We got off to that good start. Our defense was so good. Our press worked good. Our half-court defense looked good."

The Hornets' lead faced its toughest challenge in the second quarter. Max Priggel scored six of his 14 points during a 10-2 spurt that cut Advance's lead to five points with 2:56 left in the half.

Jacob Priggel knocked down a 3-pointer to pull Oran within three points at the 1:36 mark of the second quarter, but that was as close as the Eagles got.

Advance scored the final four points of the period to extend its lead to 30-23 at the break.

"Every time we would battle back and make a run, they would answer it with another run and extend that lead out to what it was," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "I just think we spent so much energy trying to get back in it after they jumped on us that it just kind of took a lot out of us."

Both teams shot below 30 percent in the first half, but Advance took advantage of opportunities at the free-throw line. The Hornets were 14 of 21 (67 percent) at the charity stripe in the first half, while Oran was a perfect 6-of-6 shooting but never reached the bonus.

Advance bounced back from its first-half shooting performance by knocking down its first four shots of the third quarter to take a 38-23 lead. Ladd was charged with his fourth foul with 1:03 remaining in the period, but freshman Armani Vermillion converted a conventional three-point play inside the final minute of the quarter to extend the Hornets' lead to 46-32 heading into the final frame.

Advance's Armani Vermillion, left, and Preston Wuebker celebrate after winning the Class 1 District 2 championship Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 in Bell City, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

"He's going to be a good, good player," Wheetley said about Vermillion, who provided six points off the bench. "He got a couple steals for us. He stepped up. These kids, we talked to them about how we've got to rebound and play good defense to win because that'll carry over to your offense, and it did."

All five Advance starters reached double figures. Whitson had a team-high 14 points for the Hornets, while Ladd added 13 points and Preston Wuebker contributed 12 points. Wilson and Dawson Mayo scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

"They weren't going to quit. They were going to keep coming at you, and they did. We just went on two or three runs there in that second half, and that's what it takes sometimes to win," said Wheetley, whose team shot 14 of 22 (67 percent) from the field in the second half.

Jacob Priggel finished with a game-high 24 points in his final varsity appearance.

Shoemaker was pleased with the performance from his two leading scorers and was quick to applaud the efforts from seniors Thomas Trankler and Hunter Schlosser, who battled foul trouble and a number of missed shots while being held to six points combined.

An Oran fan celebrates in the second quarter during the Class 1 District 2 championship Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 in Bell City, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

"It's easy to play hard when you're hitting shots. It's pretty difficult sometimes when you're in foul trouble or when you're not hitting shots to continue to battle and play hard, and I give those guys credit for doing that," said Shoemaker, whose team finished 17 of 50 (34 percent) from the floor.

The Hornets will face Gideon in a Class 1 sectional 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bloomfield High School. Gideon upset top-seeded Clarkton 63-52 for the Class 1 District 1 crown.

"I love them to death. They stepped up here. We've got a little something going here, but that group last year started all this," Wheetley said. "... That group was hungry.

"They wanted it, and this group is carrying it over."

Advance 20 10 16 20 -- 66

Oran 7 16 9 17 -- 49

ADVANCE (66) -- Brian Whitson 14, Austin Ladd 13, Preston Wuebker 12, Dalton Wilson 11, Dawson Mayo 10, Armani Vermillion 6. FG 21-48, FT 21-29, F 13. (3-pointers: Whitson 2, Wuebker 1. Fouled out: None.)

ORAN (49) -- Jacob Priggel 24, Max Priggel 14, Hunter Schlosser 4, Blake Overfield 3, Thomas Trankler 2, Jason Bennett 2. FG 17-50, FT 9-11, F 21. (3-pointers: J. Priggel 5, Overfield 1. Fouled out: None.)