Advance boys basketball team set to face top-ranked Meadville

ADVANCE, Mo. -- For as much as the Advance boys basketball team has relied on its outside shooting this postseason, Hornets' coach Bubba Wheetley said his team will have to rely on its defense and press against its toughest competition yet.

Advance, now in its second season under Wheetley, will be joined by Meadville, Leeton and Winston in the Class 1 final four today in Columbia, Missouri.

The Hornets (18-9) will play undefeated Meadville in a semifinal today at 6:40 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

To get past the Eagles, Wheetley said his team will take a page out of the defensive playbook of Class 2 state semifinalist Scott County Central, who defeated Meadville by 30 points in the Class 1 state championship last season.

"We're going to work on denying them on the post the most and I'm hoping our press works," Wheetley said. "I'm hoping we'll get some turnovers off of it because I haven't seen anyone press them yet. I know last year Scott County Central hurt them on their press. Now our press ain't no Scott County Central, but I'm hoping we'll speed them up, make them work and we'll see."

Advance's season nearly came to an end in a quarterfinal against South Iron last Saturday.

The Hornets trailed for most of the game until junior Brian Whitson hit a 3-pointer to give them their first lead of the game with less than a minute to play.

After giving up a basket, which tied the game, Preston Wuebker hit a jump shot to give Advance a 47-45 victory and a spot in the final four.

Despite hitting the game-winning shot for the Hornets, Wuebker said his team's defense in the fourth quarter against South Iron was the real key to Advance's victory and will have to be again.

"Defense and rebounding got us there. We played harder defense throughout the year and have been getting better at it," Wuebker said. "We scored on our last shot, but we were able to come back because we played some really good defense. When we're ahead or tied up, I think we have a better shot of winning because we can take care of the ball pretty well. That will be key for us."

Meadville, which has defeated each of its opponents by at least 16 points this season, boasts a stacked lineup of five starting seniors.

At 6-foot-3, shooting guard Cade Shiflett leads the Eagles with 16 points and 19 rebounds per game.

The Eagles also pose a threat from behind the arc. Seniors T.J. Schmitz and Dalton Palmer have each made 84 3-pointers this season and have over 100 assists apiece.

In the paint, 6-foot-5 forward Blake Burkholder may pose the biggest threat for Advance's rather smaller interior, according to Wheetley.

"I had a chance to watch them on film and I'm going to watch more. Going to have to watch a lot more," Wheetley said on Monday. "But they can shoot. They have some shooters. They've also got the size that we're lacking. They've got a big man at 6-foot-5 and an all-stater at 6-foot-3, so we've definitely got our work cut out for us."

Sophomore Dawson Mayo is the Hornets tallest player at 6-foot-3 and leads them with 7.9 rebounds per game. Mayo said he's up for any challenge the Eagles interior may throw his way.

"It's going to be a bigger stage, but you've got to treat it like it's just another game," Mayo said. "It's going to be tough down there. They've got that size like we've been talking about all week, but I thought in the last game against South Iron we did pretty good with getting the ball down there. Between me and Austin [Ladd], we've practiced our moves and our shot-fakes down there so much that it's starting to be like second nature for us."

Ladd led Advance with 12 points while Mayo had seven in the Hornets' quarterfinal victory.

"We know that when our offense is working the best all five of us are scoring and we're all around double digits," Ladd said. "That's whenever we're working the ball best and really playing good basketball. We can't leave anybody out. If you're not hitting it, work it around and try to get another shot later. Bubba has just kind of pushed it in our heads that we need to be stronger with the ball and hopefully we'll see results in games. Like all the other guys on this team, I've started to shoot a little more after practice and focus a little bit more, especially this week."

Senior Dalton Wilson is averaging 14.8 points per game to lead Advance, which will also try to push the ball up and down the floor against Meadville on offense.

After watching film, Wuebker is confident the Hornets' speed advantage over the Eagles makes it a favorable matchup for his team.

"I watched a couple of their games on YouTube, and I'd say they're pretty solid," Wuebker said. "They're definitely beatable, though. We'll have to run the floor and keep going. They work the ball inside a lot, so we're just going to have to get them off of their game, play more up tempo and run them out of the gym."

Leeton and Winston, both 28-2, will play in the other semifinal at 8:20 p.m. today.

Wheetley said both teams are fast and like to run the floor.

"I think if you're here you've definitely got a chance," Wheetely said. "With both of those teams, speed seems to be their game. They've each got a couple shooters, but stopping their speed will be our top priority. We've matched up pretty well there, so I don't see that being a problem."

The third-place game will take place at 2:30 p.m. Friday while the winners will advance to Saturday's championship game at 2:40 p.m.

While Meadville remains the No. 1 ranked Class 1 team in Missouri, Wheetley said that wouldn't have any effect on his players and added that the level of competition Advance has faced this season has it prepared to face any team for the remainder of the season.

"It doesn't matter," Wheetley said about the state rankings. "When you have like a No. 1 or No. 2 team, you don't know who they've been playing, but I know who we've played. When you play Notre Dame, Scott County Central, Cape Central and teams like that, you're talking about some of the best that Missouri has to offer. I don't think they've played those kinds of teams.

"I think that gives us an advantage because we've experienced what it's like to play tough competition. But in reality, those records hardly mean a thing. It's how you're playing at the end. And I said it all last year -- heart. You've got to have it, and these kids do. They could've quit the other day and pitched it in, but they didn't. They kept fighting back, hitting shots here and there, and that's what it's going to take."