C2D3: Advance survives poor FT shooting, tough Bloomfield squad with late W

BLOOMFIELD – On paper, the Advance High School boy’s basketball game on Monday against Bloomfield on the Wildcats’ home floor in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 3 Tournament was supposed to be a blowout.

The Hornets came into the game having won 20 of its 26 games this season, while Bloomfield was a mere 4-20. However, just like the match-up that the two teams played in December, the records were meant to be ignored, as it proved to be a much more competitive game than most thought it would be.

The Hornets were abysmal from the free throw line, particularly late in the game, but held on for a 51-46 win, which moved them into the semifinal round against Oran on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

“We had awful free throw shooting,” veteran Advance coach Bubba Wheetley said afterward.

Advance (21-6) only beat the Wildcats by six points back in December in Bloomfield, so Monday’s tight game didn’t surprise Wheetley.

“We didn’t play well,” Wheetley said, “but we won, and we just have to go on.”

Advance looked to be cruising early, as it took a 14-5 lead early in the second quarter. However, Bloomfield, which had nine defeats this year by single digits, battled back to a 26-23 halftime deficit by driving the ball against the Advance defense and finding 6-foot-4 senior James Barks repeatedly.

“We gave up way too many baseline drives,” Wheetley said, ‘and that is how they got it into the Barks kid, and he hurt us.”

Barks finished the game with 19 points, but 10 of those came in the second quarter.

The Hornets regrouped following halftime and led by double digits early in the final period, but the Wildcats weren’t finished.

Bloomfield fouled the Hornets in order to stop the clock, and Advance obliged by missing five free throws, including the front end of one-and-ones on three occasions.

With less than 30 seconds remaining, it was a one-possession game before the Wildcats committed a turnover, which ultimately doomed them.

“We hang our hat on our defense,” Bloomfield coach Kyle Keith said, “and how hard we play, and I am proud of how hard they played.”

Wildcat senior Hunter Moore added nine points in the loss, while sophomore Caleb Upchurch and junior Lucas Dowdy each had six.

Hornet senior Colton Silman was solid at the free throw line, as he sank 4 of his 5 attempts and finished with a team-best 14 points, while senior Hayden Laird added 11.

Advance senior Jaxon Limbaugh chipped in nine points, while senior Hayden Hitt had eight.

The Hornets will now face the Eagles, who beat Oak Ridge 65-56.

Oran (16-10) fell to Advance 61-59 in early December but beat the Hornets 49-40 last week.

“Advance plays so hard all of the time,” Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. “They are well coached and it has been a nice rivalry for years between us.”