Gideon boys basketball team ends Hornets' season in Class 1 sectional

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- At the end, Advance boys basketball coach Bubba Wheetley could barely speak. His voice scratched and cracked and, much like his team's performance on this night, fell short.

The Hornets got popped in a way they hadn't all year, falling into a 22-point hole by halftime and never able to muster a full response as they couldn't keep up with a quick, experienced Gideon side that ended their season 90-71 in a Class 1 sectional on Tuesday night at Bloomfield High School.

"Our goal was to get to the final four again, and we didn't accomplish that," Wheetley said. "I think the kids, I love them to death. They did everything and put it out there. We just got beat.

"They outplayed us, bottom line. From start to finish they outplayed us. Not that we didn't play hard, they just had us outplayed. They outcoached me. They just beat us, bottom line."

It was an all-around performance for the Bulldogs (25-4), who celebrated a new high -- their first trip to a state quarterfinal.

"I'm just elated right now," Gideon coach Keenan Buchanan said. "We've never been here before. We've won the district and been to sectionals, but this is the first time we've gotten past sectionals. I'm tickled to death to be there. I'm very proud. I knew how good Advance was.

"They haven't seen much of us. We're down here in the Bootheel where we don't get a lot of coverage and I think we kind of snuck in here a little."

Gideon used its quickness to beat Advance (24-6) to space, move the basketball and draw fouls, and handled the Hornet press with something virtually no one else has -- aplomb. Advance was unable to harass the Bulldogs into many easy baskets, and instead found itself in foul trouble. Center Dawson Mayo picked up his fourth foul at the 5:23 mark of the second quarter.

Of course, he had already found his hands full with Gideon center Kason Lawrence, who finished with 25 points. The Bulldogs put three scorers in double digits, as Dalen Hutchison led all players with 29 points and Allen Earnheart added 23.

"I really thought our point guard [Earnheart] and our big man [Lawrence] are two places we matched up at least evenly," Buchanan said. "I wondered about the other three, and I thought the other three did a good job tonight.

"Hutchison, he always plays big for us. He's the kid nobody really [thinks about] and he's averaged about 25 points a game the last three or four games here. Everybody's double-teaming Kason, and Kason's a pretty good passer and we were able to exploit it."

Advance was paced by 18 points from Armani Vermillion, while Austin Ladd scored 16, 12 of which came in the final period. Mayo added 10 points despite his limited time on the floor.

While Mayo's absence certainly hurt the Hornets, it was all about quickness for the Bulldogs -- quickness on the floor and a swift blow that forced Advance to chase the entire night.

Mayo gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead 50 seconds into the game, and they never led again. Hutchison scored off an inbounds play 22 seconds later to spark a 12-0 run as Gideon immediately went on the offensive and took control.

Hutchison later scored back-to-back buckets, the latter of which pushed the score to 20-10 as Lawrence dished out of a double team.

Even with Mayo in the game, Lawrence scored nine points in the opening quarter and helped his side out to a 27-14 advantage after one period.

The Bulldogs only extended their edge in the second quarter, going on a 12-0 run midway through the period to go up 41-18 after Earnheart got to the hole and drew a foul for a pair of free throws.

Advance tried to press and pick up some easy baskets, but Gideon was never flustered and kept control of the contest.

"I thought our press would hurt them more, and it didn't," Wheetley said. "They handled it really well. They passed and beat it and then attacked. Â… They've got a real good guard. Earnheart is tough. I knew he could control things and he did all night long.

"Earnheart got to the rim too easy at times, but they made shots. They shot well and we didn't. Early on, we couldn't get it to go. Their shots did, they increased the lead and it was hard to come back."

The Hornets were able to score only 11 points in the second quarter, and went into halftime facing a 47-25 deficit.

"When you get up 22 at halftime, I told them, 'What we can't do is quit attacking, because they can come back quickly from 22,'" Buchanan said. "I'm just proud of our effort all the way around."

Advance matched Gideon in the third quarter, but it wasn't enough -- the Hornets needed to gain ground. Instead, Earnheart and Hutchison each scored nine points in the quarter and the Bulldogs maintained their cushion.

"I told them at halftime, 'Try to cut it to 14. Try to get it to 14 into the fourth and I think we've got a chance.' But they came right out and Â… took it to us," Wheetley said.

Instead, the Hornets were looking up at a 24-point gap, 67-43, after three quarters.

Advance managed a 12-4 run midway through the fourth quarter as Preston Wuebker scored consecutive baskets before Ladd did the same to cap the swing, dropping the ball down in transition to cut the deficit to 16 points, 78-62, with 3:34 left to play.

The closest the Hornets got was 15 points, as a pair of Ladd free throws with 2:10 left made the score 84-69.

Gideon advances to a state quarterfinal Saturday in Van Buren, Missouri, where it will face School of the Ozarks (25-3), which defeated Eminence (13-15) in a sectional Tuesday.

Gideon 27 20 20 23 -- 90

Advance 14 11 18 28 -- 71

GIDEON (90) -- Gavin Sprouse 1, Caleb Buchanan 3, Dylan Pickard 23, Drew Buchanan 3, Dalen Hutchison 29, Kason Lawrence 25. FG 34, FT 18-26, F 17. (3-pointers: C. Buchanan, Pickard, Earnheart, D. Buchanan. Fouled out: None.)

ADVANCE (71) -- Armani Vermillion 18, Michael Hood 2, Dakota Welty 8, Preston Wuebker 9, Brian Whitson 8, Austin Ladd 16, Dawson Mayo 10. FG 27, FT 12-16, F 20. (3-pointers: Welty 2, Whitson 2, Wuebker. Fouled out: Mayo.)