Advance boys face sectional challenge

~ Kelly girls will also face Doniphan in a Class 3 sectional.

Three years of coming up just short finally came to an end for Advance's boys basketball team in the form of Thursday's district championship win over South Iron.

The Hornets claimed their first district title since 2000 and only their second since 1978.

Now the challenge will be making good on their district title, with the first challenge for the Hornets a Class 2 sectional meeting at 8:15 tonight against South Pemiscot (24-4) at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

"We beat a tough team in South Iron," Advance coach Joe Shoemaker said. "Every team you face from now on will be a tough team. There's no pushovers, but we're confident in what we're doing."

Last year seemed to be the year for Advance to make its move, as the Hornets had four returning starters from an 18-10 team. Injuries slowed down star guard Tyler Bowman, though, and Advance narrowly fell to South Iron in the district championship game.

"We've had to fight injuries the last couple of years," Shoemaker said. "We have some injuries this year also, but that's something you have to fight through."

Advance (21-7) has been on a tear during the second half of the season,winning 17 of 19 games after Christmas. The two losses came to Class 1 power Bell City and South Iron.

"This group had never really played together before this year," Shoemaker said. "It took a while to get in rhythm early. I thought we started to play better together the second half of the year. We play a pretty rough early season schedule, too."

A key to the Hornets' success this season, and for that matter the past few seasons, has been their depth. Advance can go 10 deep, and Shoemaker credited his team's bench with helping the Hornets outscore South Iron 30-8 in the decisive fourth quarter Thursday.

"Our bench played a significant part. I felt we wore them down," Shoemaker said. "We've always been pretty deep, playing a lot of different guys. We've had seven or eight guys lead us in scoring this year."

Alex Steil, a junior, has led the Hornets in scoring throughout the season. Steil averages about 16 points a game.

Shoemaker said Steil has really progressed this season, making improvements in his defense and passing.

"We obviously knew he was capable of doing some of these things," Shoemaker said. "He's improved other areas of his game throughout the season."

Seniors Daryl Ward and Jeremy Limbaugh are each averaging in double figures for the Hornets. Advance has six seniors on its roster.

"We've got some good senior leadership," Shoemaker said. "Some of these guys have been varsity three years now. They've been through it. All of the seniors have really stepped up their play."

Advance will face a serious challenge in South Pemiscot, which made it to the quarterfinal round last season, where it lost on a last-second shot to St. Vincent.

"They're extremely quick, athletic. They jump well," Shoemaker said. "South Pemiscot won a sectional matchup last year so a lot of their kids have been to this point."

Senior guard Anthony Jones, a second-team all-state selection last year, leads the South Pemiscot offense.

"A lot of their offense is created from their guards. They're really good players," Shoemaker said. "They pass the ball well. Their quickness will probably give us some problems."

In order to counteract South Pemiscot's quickness, the Hornets will once again turn to their depth.

"That's something that will be a key the rest of our run, as far as we go," Shoemaker said. "Our depth can wear people out."

Kelly and Doniphan meet in sectional rematch

For the second straight season Kelly and Doniphan will meet in a Class 3 girls basketball sectional.

The teams will meet at 6:30 tonight at Poplar Bluff High School.

Doniphan (22-4) knocked off Kelly 65-50 last season, and should be the favorite again tonight. Doniphan is ranked No. 7 in Class 3.

"Doniphan is a very good basketball team, well coached," Kelly coach Rod McQuerter said. "They have outstanding players. We just want to go out and compete and play hard and see what happens."

Kelly (20-8) needed every second of Friday's district championship game to get by Greenville. Nikki Weiny made a basket with about 3 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 50-49 win.

As they have done all season, the Hawks will cycle players in and out and try to take advantage of their depth. Freshman center Debra Hall leads a balanced attack with more than 15 points a game. In the district final Hall had just six points, as nine Kelly players scored.

"At this point of the year, we just want to try to make good, smart decisions on offense and defense," McQuerter said. "The girls were able to do that against Greenville."