Bloomfield boys basketball team's last-second shot downs Advance

After battling back from an eight-point deficit, the Advance boys basketball team found itself leading by one point with seven seconds to play.

Junior Brian Whitson had just scored on a layup to give the Hornets their third lead of the game, and after a Bloomfield timeout, Advance was prepared to prevent the Wildcats from hitting a game-winning shot.

"We were talking about the fact that we had enough fouls to give," said Advance sophomore Dawson Mayo, who's team had two fouls to give in the final seven seconds. "We knew we could foul them if we wanted to and make them go to the line and win the game that way. We wanted to stop any kind of shot from the court that we could because we've lost so many games that way."

Following the timeout, Bloomfield snuck a quick pass in to Nathan Newell. The junior eluded every Advance defender and raced down the length of the court where he found Peyton Bell waiting at the bottom corner of the court, just outside the 3-point line.

The freshman, who was unguarded, caught the pass and waited for a second before lining up the swish to hand fourth-seeded Advance a 45-43 upset in the first-round of the Stoddard County Activities Association Tournament at home.

"Nathan got it in quick, got the ball down the floor really well and I saw that I was wide-open," Bell said. "Two people were covered down low. They left me wide-open on the backside, and Nathan hit me right in the hands. I knew it was going in when it left my hands."

The Hornets tried a last second heave with .8 seconds left on the clock but the shot fell well short of the rim.

Advance coach Dennis Wheetley said his team took too long to foul and was not ready for the inbound pass at the other end of the floor.

"We told them that when they get the ball in to foul," Wheetley said. "We had fouls to give, but that's just kids. I'll take full responsibility. I should've been hollering at them the whole time going down the floor and I didn't. That's the way it goes."

Advance trailed the entire game until junior Justin Ladd tied the game at 34-34 with a drive and layin on the Hornets first possession in first minute of the fourth quarter..

Bloomfield teammates surround Peyton Bell in celebration after his three-point shot at the buzzer to beat Advance 45-43 in a first-round game of the SCAA Tournament Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015 in Bloomfield, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

On Bloomfield's next possession, Ladd stole a pass and chucked the ball down the length of the floor to Whitson, who put in an easy layup.

Bloomfield's Noah Vandiver answered on the other end with two straight jump shots to regain a 38-36 lead for the Wildcats with 5 minutes, 29 seconds to play.

Armani Vermillion was called for a charge on Advance's next possession. Following the giveaway, Alex Gibbs scored from inside the paint to push the lead to 40-36 with 4:44 to go.

However, Whitson responded with a 3-pointer on the other end to pull the Hornets to within 40-39.

Gibbs was called for a charge following a timeout, giving Advance the ball with 2:39 remaining.

Mayo didn't waste the opportunity to score, and drove through the lane before finishing with a layup to give Advance a 41-40 lead with 2:18 left.

Advance forced a turnover on the Wildcats' next possession. Vermillion brought the ball down court and was fouled after crossing half court.

The freshman went to the line to shoot one-and one for a chance to increase Advance's lead. However he missed the front end and Bloomfield grabbed the rebound and went down the court and scored to put Bloomfield ahead 42-41 with 36 seconds left.

"That was one I'm sure that young man wants back and I know I do too," Wheetley said. "That's something he'll learn from and I'm sure we all will. You have to hit your free throws in tight games like these if you want to win."

Following an Advance timeout, Whitson gave Advance its 43-42 lead with his layup, setting the scene for Bloomfield's winning shot.

"At first I though it was falling short and I was thanking God," Mayo said about his reaction during Bell's shot. "But then it went through the net and my heart kind of sank. That's twice that it's happened to me since I've been here because it happened to us in the (state) quarterfinals last year."

In the first quarter, the Hornets only shot 20 percent from the field (2 of 10). They added two free throws, but found themselves trailing 11-6 at the end of the period.

"They just played good defense," Wheetley said. "They shut down our 3-point shooters and we tried to pound it inside, but we really couldn't get that going until the second quarter. Then, I thought we looked pretty good from inside. Mayo did a good job. We had some mismatches inside. Sometimes it worked for us and sometimes it didn't."

Mayo missed four shots from inside the paint in the first, but battled back with two layups and a fade-away jumper to help his team get back in it.

Advance outscored Bloomfield 14-12 in the second and only trailed 23-20 at halftime.

"We were ready to go because we came back and started making a run going into the break," Mayo said. "We thought we were going to come out and beat them up, but instead we just kept going, flip-flop, flip-flop, the rest of the way."

The teams stayed within four points of each another in the third quarter, with Bloomfield holding its largest lead of the quarter at 32-28 with 2:55 to go.

Advance came within two points when Preston Wuebler hit a jumper to pull the Hornets within 34-32.

Advance had a chance to tie the game after forcing a turnover with 18 seconds to go in the third, but missed two consecutive shots as time expired.

Mayo finished with 13 points to lead the Hornets, and Whitson added eight.

Bloomfield was led by Vandiver, who scored 12 points. Alex Gibbs chipped in 10.

The Wildcats advance to a semifinal against top-seeded Bernie at 7 p.m. Thursday.

"You just have to regroup and bounce back," Wheetley said. "It's over now. We really wanted to keep competing in this tournament, but I know and they know we still have some games to play and we can contend in our district. We just have to keep working hard every day."

No. 5 Bloomfield 11 12 11 11 -- 45

No. 4 Advance 6 14 12 11 -- 43

BLOOMFIELD (45) -- Noah Vandiver 12, Alex Gibbs 10, Peyton Bell 9, Austin Bond 4, Tyler Battles 4, Nathan Newell 3, Tim Hector 3. FG 18, FT 4-5, F 15 (3-pointers: Bell 3, Hector 1, Newell 1. Fouled out: none.)

ADVANCE (43) -- Dawson Mayo 13, Dalton Wilson 8, Armani Vermillion 7, Preston Wuebker 6, Austin Ladd 6, Brian Whitson 3. FG 18, FT 6-11, F 12 (3-pointers: Whitson 1. Fouled out: none.)