Advance uses patience to reach sectional round

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Advance wasn't having its best night Thursday, but Hornets coach Joe Shoemaker kept telling his players to hang in there and things would eventually turn around.

He was right.

Advance opened the fourth quarter with 17-2 run that erased a five-point deficit and propelled the Hornets to a 64-47 win over South Iron in the Class 2 District 2 championship game Thursday at Bloomfield.

"One of the things was our kids never dropped their heads," Shoemaker said. "We knew we weren't playing well. We had made a few turnovers we usually don't. We gave up a few easy looks and just weren't shooting the ball very well to start with.

"But I told them if we could just hang around and continue to keep it close, eventually we'd start to shoot the ball well."

South Iron (22-4), which had controlled the game through the first three periods, seemed stunned by Advance's spree. The Panthers managed just eight points in the period while the Hornets racked up 30.

"We knew they weren't extremely deep, and we have been all year long," said Shoemaker, whose team had lost by three points to South Iron in the regular season. "We've had a sixth or seventh man come in and be the leading scorer. Our guys off the bench tonight came in and defended well and ran the floor, and I believe that really helped us to stay fresh at the end."

Daryl Wade led the Hornets (21-7) with a game-high 15 points, followed by James Masters with 14 and Alex Steil with 12. Jeremy Limbaugh and Trenton Moses each added 11.

Steil, who was shutout in the first meeting of the two teams, had nine points in the deciding fourth quarter.

Players who provided some productive minutes off the bench included Adam Baker, Jordan Seabaugh and Rusty Hendricks.

The win marked the first district championship for the Hornets after a stretch of reaching the championship game the past four years.

"It feels great," said Shoemaker, in his second year as the head coach. "We've been here four years in a row, and it's something we've talked about all year. One game doesn't make or break a season, but it feels good to get over the top."

Advance plays 8:15 p.m. Wednesday in the sectional round at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., against South Pemiscot.