Advance boys basketball team runs past Chaffee

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Chaffee kept trying to rally, but Advance repeatedly found an answer Tuesday.

The Hornets would build a decent lead before the Red Devils charged back within a few points. But Advance would thwart that charge with a run of its own.

The host Hornets staved off the final surge late in the fourth quarter to quell the Red Devils 74-64 in a battle of Class 2 District 3 boys basketball rivals.

"I thought when we started finally playing defense, like we know how to do, our offense finally got going," Advance coach Andrew Halford said. "Heck the first majority of the game, we were getting beat off the dribble. We weren't helping. We weren't doing our basic stuff right, and they were taking advantage."

Advance (8-5) gained a seven-point lead about midway through the second quarter, but it took the Red Devils (7-4) one minute to reduce their deficit to a point.

Advance’s Ethan Barr takes a shot in front of Chaffee defender Jordan Yahn during the second quarter Tuesday in Advance, Mo. (Laura Simon)

Not to worry.

Advance reeled off a 12-4 run over the remainder of the quarter to enter halftime up nine points.

"Our offense works good when we move the ball and we don't take quick shots," Advance senior Hunter Wilson said. "It's all about moving. We were standing still a lot."

The Hornets pushed their lead to 11 points early in the third quarter, but an Alex Crowe 3-pointer trimmed that lead to three points with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left in the quarter.

"Sometimes it looked like we didn't know what we were doing out there," Advance senior Ethan Barr said. "We had to get settled down. They were playing good defense on us. Just had to settle into our stuff."

Barr took matters into his own hands by attacking inside. He scored six points during a 10-4 run to end the third quarter and regain the Hornets' nine-point cushion.

"They were running man, and I told everyone to get out and look for me," Barr said. "They did."

Lane Below's drive to the basket gave him a chance at a traditional three-point play to open the final period, but he missed the free throw, which gave the Hornets an 11-point lead.

That's when Crowe decided he'd seen enough.

"I knew I needed to get going for us to even have a chance," he said. "Once I start making things, it opens up stuff for everyone else."

Crowe looked unstoppable over the next four minutes. He started hitting from outside, and when the Advance defense took away that, he drove to the basket.

"Sometimes against players like that, you work on shutting everyone else down and letting them do their thing," Halford said. "Still playing solid defense, but understanding he's going to hit a shot with three guys on him in the corner."

Crowe went on a 10-3 run to cut Chaffee's hole to 59-55 with 3:41 remaining.

"It's one of those moments when you have a scorer like that and he starts doing it, you want the ball in his hands," Chaffee coach Josh Govreau said. "That's what we told our younger kids in the game. At the end like that when it's close and he's getting on one of those runs, we've got to make sure we find him. But we had a couple careless turnovers where he's on one side of the floor getting open and we're trying to do something on the other end."

The teams traded baskets before Advance started to gain some separation when Below sank two free throws for an eight-point lead.

Crowe swiped that momentum with his fifth 3-pointer of the game with 1:52 left to cut his team's deficit to five points, but the well dried up for the Red Devils after that.

Both teams struggled from the free-throw line over the final minute, but the Hornets did enough to spoil the Red Devils' night.

"This was a big game, I thought," said Halford, who stomped his feet and vigorously encouraged his team's defense during the final minute. "We been preaching to our kids every game is important, every game is a big game. But for us, it's a district opponent. It's a big game to come out and play good and play solid and come out with wins against good teams, and Chaffee is one this year."

Crowe finished with a game-high 27 points, including 15 of his team's 19 points in the fourth quarter. The senior said the Hornets' defense exhausted him.

"Every possession, they're just all over me," he said. "It takes its toll mentally, too. I get frustrated."

Wilson led the Hornets with 21 points, while Barr added 20 and Below 17.

Chaffee 15 14 16 19 -- 64

Advance 17 21 16 20 -- 74

CHAFFEE (64) -- Jordan Yahn 8, Alex Crowe 27, Alex Davie 6, Zach Dannenmueller 4, Peyton Montgomery 7, Charlie Montgomery 6, Layton Tenkhoff 6. FG 25, FT 9-21, F 19. (3-pointers: Crowe 5. Fouled out: Tenkhoff)

ADVANCE (74) -- Hunter Wilson 21, Ethan Barr 20, Lane Below 17, Curtis Gilliland 4, Jacob Spears 7, Tyler Middleton 3, Braden Bien 2. FG 30, FT 8-16, F 20. (3-pointers: Wilson 3, Below 1, Spears 1, Middleton 1. Fouled out: none)