ADVANCE HOISTS TROPHY

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Advance, without a true scoring star, without much height, without fear, showed several thousand fans what team basketball is about Saturday night as the fifth-seeded Hornets stunned a school three class sizes bigger in defeating the second-seeded Jackson Indians 61-58 to claim the University High Christmas Tournament.

The Hornets (9-1) won the tournament for the first time since 1958.

"This is the best thing I've ever been a part of," said Advance coach and former Dexter coach Jim Hall, who is believed to be the first coach to lead a team to a U-High title and a Bloomfield Christmas Tournament championship. "This just says a lot about the group of kids I've got. They're hard workers and they're very disciplined."

The Hornets had several different players step to the forefront throughout the tournament. On Saturday night, it was little known Garrett Sherman.

Sherman, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, scored a game-high 21 points as he hit three crucial 3-pointers and made several clutch free throws.

"My teammates just give me the ball when I'm open," said Sherman. "That's how we play. Whoever has the hot hand that night is who we feed it to."

Ironically, it was a kid named Garrett who lifted the Hornets to a title.

Last year, Advance relied heavily on all-stater Garrett Broshuis. This year, few thought Advance would contend for a title without such a star, but the Hornets certainly proved a point by winning the tournament.

"This means a lot," said senior point guard Adam Rainey, who is without a doubt the leader on the team. "I love Garrett (Broshuis) to death; he's one of my best friends, but we wanted to show everybody there's life after Broshuis."

Advance, which found itself trailing 15-9 after the first quarter, took its first lead of the game with 1:40 to go in the second quarter. The Hornets led 26-23 going into halftime and never trailed after that.

Jackson, which trailed 48-38 with 5:18 to go in the third quarter, chipped away at the lead throughout the second half.

The Indians' Matt Ferrell hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions, slicing Jackson's deficit to 58-56 with :44 left, but Advance hit three of its four free throws the rest of the way.

"I'm happy with our effort," said Jackson coach Mike Kiehne. "I'm disappointed in the loss of course, but we came in seeded second and we lived up to our seed. A lot of teams didn't do that."

Andrew Jenkins sliced and slashed his way to 13 points for Advance, while Aaron Cantrell added 10 points for the Hornets.

Jenkins and Rainey were both named to the all-tournament team. Rainey played well, but scored only two points.

But Rainey doesn't concern himself with points.

"We like to consider ourselves scrappy," said Rainey. "We don't have a lot of talent and we can't shoot very well. But you might as well get used to it, because we'll win. We'll win ugly, but we'll win."

"They play as a team," Kiehne added. "And they're so fundamental. If you handle the ball well, hit shots when you're open and don't throw the ball away, you'll win. They're just very well coached. Their kids believe in coach Hall's system and they do everything you need to do."

Ferrell scored 20 points to lead Jackson, while Seth McDowell -- who fouled out -- scored 13. McDowell was named to the all-tournament team.