Advance turns back Braves in fifth-place game

Advance coach Joe Shoemaker wasn't all that pleased with his team's play entering the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

But Shoemaker came away feeling much better about the Hornets after they captured fifth place Saturday by beating Scott County Central 68-59.

The sixth-seeded Hornets capped a 3-1 tournament and improved their record to 6-4. They finished sixth in the event last year.

"It was a good tournament for us," Shoemaker said. "We corrected some things we had been doing wrong.

"We had a good week of practice and worked on a lot of things. I feel like we built a lot of momentum this week."

Scott County (7-3) did not fare quite as well as its No. 4 seed -- the Braves wound up sixth -- but coach Ronnie Cookson had few complaints after a hard-fought game that was close most of the way.

"It was a good ballgame, and we played hard," Cookson said. "Advance has a good ballclub, no doubt about that. Joe does a good job with them."

Senior guard/forward Alex Steil capped another strong tournament for the Hornets by scoring 21 points.

Steil, who had 73 points in last season's event, bettered that this year with 81 points. He made the all-tournament team for the second straight time.

"He's a good player," Shoemaker said. "He does a lot of things for us, and we did a good job of getting him the ball."

Also scoring in double figures for the Hornets were Jacob Bond with 11 points, Rusty Hendricks with 10 and David VanGennip with 10.

Scott County junior guard D.D. Gillespie, who joined Steil on the all-tournament squad, paced the Braves with 23 points. He had 76 points in the tournament.

Caleb Johnson added 16 points for the Braves and Drew Thomas scored 11.

The Braves started fast and built a 21-13 lead after one quarter, but that was the biggest advantage for either squad until the nine-point final margin.

The lead switched back and forth in the second quarter before the Hornets pulled ahead 36-34 at the intermission.

There were several more lead changes and ties in the third quarter, which ended with the Braves holding a tenuous 51-50 advantage.

The squads were tied 56-56 -- after three free throws by Gillespie, who was fouled attempting a 3-point shot -- with less than 4 minutes remaining in the game when Advance finally grabbed control, thanks largely to Steil.

Steil put the Hornets ahead for good at 58-56 on a layup with 3:15 to play.

After a Scott County turnover, Steil scored inside for a 60-56 advantage. The Braves then missed a shot and Steil capped a personal 6-0 run on another basket from in close with 1:15 left, making it 62-56.

The Braves got no closer than four points the rest of the way and the Hornets sealed the victory by making all six of their free throws in the final minute, four by Hendricks and two by Steil.

"We did a little bit better job playing with some energy in the fourth quarter," Shoemaker said. "It was a good tournament for us and hopefully we can build on this."

Advance 68, Scott County Central 59

Scott County 21 13 17 8 -- 59

Advance 13 23 14 18 -- 68

SCOTT COUNTY CENTRAL (59) -- D. D. Gillespie 23, Toby Heeb 3, Mark Freed 2, Bobby Hatchett 4, Drew Thomas 11, Caleb Johnson 16. FG 24 FT 9-12, F 12 (3-pointers: Gillespie 1, Heeb 1 . Fouled out: none.)

ADVANCE (68) -- Rusty Hendricks 10, Adam Baker 2, Tyler Wade 3, David VanGennip 10, Alex Steil 21, Jacob Bond 11, Cody Mitchell 4, Trenton Moses 7. FG 27 FT 7-9, F 11(3-pointers: Hendricks 2, Wade 1, VanGennip 2, Steil 1, Bond 1 . Fouled out: none.)