Scott City finds range, advances past Hornets

Scott City had one 3-pointer in the first half and trailed Advance by four points on Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

The Rams' frustrations ended in the second half as their long-distance call was finally answered.

The third-seeded Rams hit eight 3-pointers after halftime, five in the third quarter, and pulled away late for a 72-57 win over the sixth-seeded Hornets. Scott City (7-0) will play Central in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

"The first half just was not Scott City basketball," Scott City coach Lance Amick said. "They just didn't play disciplined. We were stagnant both offensively and defensively. Luckily you get 16 more minutes after the first half."

Trailing 28-24 at halftime, the Rams came out of the locker room firing. Mark Dannenmueller hit two 3-pointers early in the third to cut the lead to 32-30. Jeremy Schlosser hit a 3-pointer then was fouled attempting a 3-pointer the next time down to bring the lead down to 42-41 with less than three minutes remaining in the third.

Dannenmueller finally put the Rams back ahead at 43-42 with 2:05 remaining in the third. Schlosser and Dannenmueller ended the third quarter with a pair of 3-pointers, building a 50-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

"Once we started hitting, we knew we had the confidence and we were going to keep on shooting," Dannenmueller said.

Advance got within two points several times in the fourth quarter but could not get the lead back. Dannenmueller and Schlosser each finished with 18 points, the pair combining for 34 second-half points.

"I can't say enough about the way they stepped up in a pressure-packed situation," Amick said.

Along with Scott City's outside dominance in the second half, the Rams also got strong production from forward Mark Johnston and center Tyler Ward. Ward finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Johnston had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Dustin Kalinski led Advance (4-3) with 19 points and Tyler Bowman had 12.

Advance coach Jim Hall said he was happier with his team's performance in a loss on Saturday than its first-round win. The Hornets will play Scott County Central in Monday's fifth-place semifinals.

"What I like to see is a team that's really at a physical disadvantage that can compete, and that's what we did," he said.

SCOTT CITY 72, ADVANCE 57

Advance 13 15 16 13 -- 57

Scott City 15 9 26 22 -- 72

ADVANCE (57) -- Drew Sherman 6, Jeremy Limbaugh 9, Dustin Kalinski 19, Daryl Wade 5, Tyler Bowman 12, James Masters 2, Alex Sample 2, Ryland Dunivan 2. FG 23, FT 5-5, F 19 (3-pointers: Kalinski 2, Bowman 2, Limbaugh 1. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT CITY (72) -- Jeremy Schlosser 18, Mark Dannenmueller 18, Tyler Ward 13, Mark Johnston 16, Ryan Glastetter 4, Steve Sanford 3. FG 25, FT 12-19, F 11 (3-pointers: Schlosser 4, Dannenmueller 4, Sanford 1. Fouled out: none)