Advance boys basketball team holds off SCC 90-89 in title game of Oran Invitational

In a game Advance led wire-to-wire, the Hornets merely confirmed their belief the Scott County Central Braves never really go away.

The third-seeded Hornets scored the game's first points, built a 19-point lead three minutes into the third quarter and still had to hold on for dear life in posting a 90-89 victory over top-seeded SCC to break the Braves' seven-year reign at the Oran Invitational Tournament on Friday.

The Hornets (3-0) could not breathe easy until after a potential game-tying 3-pointer by Braves all-stater Jeffery Porter rimmed out in the final seconds, with teammate Deantrell Beard putting in the rebound from close range at the buzzer to account for the final score.

"They won this tournament I don't know how many years in a row," said Advance senior guard Brian Whitson, who finished with 20 points. "We knew it was going to be a fight coming in here. and we knew even with a 19-point lead or whatever we had, we weren't going to put them away easy. We knew they were going to go down fighting."

The Braves (3-3) had won the last seven titles, with the Hornets leaving the Oran gym with the second-place trophy five times in that span, including a 24-point loss to SCC in last year's final.

Scott County Central's Deven Blackmon drives in for a lay-up in the first quarter against Advance during the championship game of the Oran Invitational Tournament on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 in Oran, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

Advance returned four starters from last year's team that reached the Class 1 final four, while Scott County Central's lone returner from its Class 2 state championship team was Porter, who scored a game-high 32 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter.

"Look at all the shots he made down the stretch -- he's a winner," Advance coach Bubba Wheetley said. "He wants it on his shoulders, and he did. They were just a little short tonight. It was a good game, a good one to win."

Whitson sank two of his four 3-pointers on back-to-back possession in the opening three minutes of the game as the Hornets built a double-figure lead in the first quarter before settling for a 21-12 lead after one quarter.

Advance took that nine-point advantage into halftime, leading 38-29, after holding Porter to just four points.

"I wasn't being aggressive the first half," said Porter, who would bust loose for 28 points in the second half. "I should have been more aggressive. I was trying to be too laid back, and I should have went ahead and took care of what I needed to take care of."

Advance's Brian Whitson steps up to shoot a free throw in the second quarter against Scott County Central during the championship game of the Oran Invitational Tournament on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 in Oran, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

Junior Tyus Banks, the only other returner from last year's title team, helped keep the Braves close by scoring 13 of his 27 points in the first half, while junior Deven Blackmon, a transfer from Sikeston, scored eight of his 17.

Beard, also a junior transfer from Sikeston, finished with 10 points.

"They stepped up big for us," Porter said.

The Armanni Vermillion show debuted in the second half before Porter took the limelight.

Vermillion, a 5-foot-11 sophomore who had two points in the first half, almost single-handedly ushered out the Braves' reign at Oran.

Moments after the Braves inbounded the ball to start the second half, Vermillion came up with a steal and scored on a fastbreak basket while being fouled. The three-point play started a 15-6 run over a three-minute span in which he scored all but two of the Hornets' points. Vermillion scored 17 of his team's 31 points in the period.

Vermillion scored on a variety of fastbreak baskets, beating the Braves at their own up-tempo style.

"That's what he loves to do in practice," said senior Austin Ladd, who scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half. "You can't stop him. He's running up and down."

Vermillion added nine points in the fourth quarter to finish with a team-high 28 points.

"He played great tonight," Ladd said. "He's been playing really good lately and he's stepped up big for his age, and I believe by the time he's a senior, he's going to be a really good player."

Porter also found his game in the third quarter, scoring eight points in the period, which was a prelude to his closing act.

Advance's lead hit 19 points when Austin Mayo converted on a conventional 3-point play for a 56-37 lead with 5:05 left in the third quarter.

With Whitson hitting 3-pointers on Advance's final two possessions of the quarter, the Hornets took a 69-57 lead into the final eight minutes, where they began to succumb to the Braves' full-court pressure, committing seven turnovers after committing seven in the previous three quarters combined.

"I didn't do a very good job. I should have slowed it down," Wheetley said. "With a guy like Porter, Banks, so much speed, they just attacked us all night long."

With Advance leading 74-66 with 5:09 left, Porter assembled a personal 6-0 run on consecutive trips down the floor, with a pair of free throws cutting the lead to two points at 74-72 with 4:30 remaining.

The teams began trading baskets at a breakneck pace, but the momentum and style of play seemed to be in favor of the Braves, with Porter leading the charge as he did in averaging 28 points during the postseason last year.

The lead was cut to 83-82 when Porter made a steal near mid-court while in a press and fed Banks for a basket with just under two minutes remaining. A steal on the ensuing inbound pass under the Hornets' basket gave the Braves a chance to move ahead, but a hurried shot from close range didn't fall.

Advance then re-established a five-point lead on a fastbreak basket and two free throws by Vermillion.

With Advance leading 88-84, Porter again slashed the deficit to a single point when he buried his only 3-point basket of the night with 37 seconds remaining.

Ladd was then fouled by Banks, who fouled out on the play, and he made the first free throw before missing the second and grabbing the rebound.

"That was a big rebound," Wheetley said. "I thought all the kids stepped up. Whitson started out hot, Ladd played well, Dawson Mayo played well. And Armanni really stepped up there in that third quarter. He really carried us. Just a lot of good things I saw, but a lot of things we're going to have to clean up."

After retaining possession on Ladd's rebound, Vermillion was fouled with 12 seconds left and made one of two free throws for a 90-87 lead with 12 seconds left, setting the stage for SCC's final possession.

'I liked our pressure at the end," SCC coach Matt Cline said. "What I'm happy with is they don't panic. I don't know about offense and defense, but they don't panic. They've got some intestinal fortitude. That's what I'm proudest of, and it means I can work with them."

Advance 90, Scott County Central 89

Advance 21 17 31 21 -- 90

SCC 12 17 28 32 -- 89

ADVANCE (90) -- Armanni Vermillion 28, Dakota Welty 2, Preston Wuebker 9, Brian Whitson 20, Austin Ladd 20, Dawson Mayo 11. FG33, FT 19-30, F 16 (3-pointers: Wuebker, Whitson 4. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (89) -- Porter 32, Deven Blackmon 17, Deantrell Beard 10, Brody Ditti 3, Tyus Banks 27. FG 39, FT 9-15, F 20 (3-pointers: Porter, Blackmon. Fouled out: Ditto, Banks)