Experienced Marionville gets big jump on Advance

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It had been more than 30 years since the Advance boys basketball team had made an appearance in the state final four.

The Hornets' Class 2 semifinal opponent on Thursday, Marionville, was making its third straight final four appearance.

Marionville's experience showed early as the Comets jumped to a 22-2 lead in the first quarter, and the Hornets could not overcome their slow start in a 71-42 loss.

Advance (24-8) will play West Platte in the third-place game at 10:35 a.m. today. Marionville (27-3) will defend its state championship against Harrisburg at 1:35 p.m. today.

Hornets coach Joe Shoemaker said he talked throughout the week about playing on the big stage.

"You can't simulate that any way," he said. "We thought we were prepared."

Marionville returned much of its team from last year, when it beat St. Vincent 35-30 in the state championship game.

"We thought with our experience, and being they hadn't been here for a while," Marionville coach Ted Young said, "if we got a good start, that could be the difference in the ball game."

The Comets' high-scoring start was likely a shock to everyone. Marionville scored just 31 points in its quarterfinal game, and came in averaging 51 points a game.

During the first quarter Marionville used an 18-0 run and led 27-8 at the end of the quarter. Sophomore point guard Jake Grubbs had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and senior forward Brick Warth added eight as well in the first.

"I thought we had a good start," Comets senior Blake Setzer said. "Jake hit some open 3s and that helped us open them up in the middle."

Known for slowing things down on offense, Marionville did not score more than 44 points in a game at the state playoffs last season. But they struck quickly and often in Thursday's opening half.

"I told the guys before the game we'll go down and push the floor and if you get an easy basket, great," Young said. "We just take pride in taking care of the basketball, and taking a good shot."

Warth was a thorn in Advance's side, getting easy buckets down low. He scored on at least four alley-oop passes in the opening half.

"Offensively, we tried to penetrate," Young said. "We made some good passes and had a good athlete going up to catch it. ... It's fun when you can alley-oop. We're not a team that alley-oops much."

The Advance players appeared stunned from the start. When the Hornets were able to make shots, Marionville thwarted the rally with steals or by coming up with the loose balls.

"We just came out flat," Advance senior Jeremy Limbaugh said. "They had a lot more intensity than we had. We didn't expect that to happen."

Added senior Daryl Wade: "We thought we came out ready to play. It didn't happen."

The pace slowed down a bit in the third quarter, and Advance inched to within 14 points late in the period. The Hornets cut the lead to 49-36 within the first minute of the fourth, but Marionville answered with an 11-0 run.

Grubbs sealed the win with a 3-pointer at the 6-minute mark, followed by a steal and a basket that pushed the lead to 56-36.

Shoemaker said he was surprised a bit by Marionville's fast-paced offense.

"It caught us a little off guard, and they shot the ball really well," he said. "Tempo was kind of where we wanted it."

But Advance was not able to take advantage thanks in large part to an awful shooting performance. The Hornets shot just 31.9 percent from the field after shooting better than 47 percent during the season.

"Obviously, that's the very worst performance we've had shooting all year," Shoemaker said.

Grubbs led Marionville with 20 points and Warth had 18.

Trenton Moses led the Hornets with 13 points, and Wade and James Masters added 10 points apiece. Masters added nine rebounds.

The loss for Advance was just its third in its last 21 games.

"Just making it was a great accomplishment for us," Wade said. "No one expected us to get here. We fought through it and got here. We just came out flat today."

Now the Hornets will have to regroup in order to end their season with a win. It will be the last game for Advance's six seniors, which includes three starters.

"We can come out and win third," Shoemaker said. He told his players: "Right now you may not think of it as much, but down the road, you'll see it as a positive."

He added, "It will be a test of character playing that game."

MARIONVILLE 71, ADVANCE 42

Marionville 27 12 9 23 -- 71

Advance 8 14 10 10 -- 42

MARIONVILLE (71) -- Kelly Parks 9, Jake Grubbs 20, Blake Setzer 9, Brick Warth 18, Garrison Edgar 5, Brandon Verfurth 6, Preston Henry 2, Ben Mooneyham 2. FG 24, FT 19-26, F 16 (3-pointers: Grubbs 3, Edgar 1. Fouled out: none)

ADVANCE (42) -- Jeremy Limbaugh 4, Daryl Wade 10, James Masters 10, Trenton Moses 13, Rusty Hendricks 2, Jordan Seabaugh 1, Adam Baker 2. FG 15, FT 10-13, F 22 (3-pointers: Wade 2. Fouled out: none)