Advance boys basketball team repeats as district champs

ESSEX, Mo. -- The Advance boys basketball team started Thursday's Class 1 District 2 championship with an energy that couldn't be matched -- an energy that propelled the Hornets to a third straight district crown.

The opening period was an ambush of sorts, as top-seeded Advance jumped out to a 20-point lead and never allowed second-seeded Oran to climb back to single digits, leading to an 88-70 win at Richland High School.

"This feels pretty good. You can't do it without your team and everybody contributing," said Advance junior Dawson Mayo, who finished with 20 points. "... We just came out wanting it. Everybody was just ready to go. Everybody was playing as a team."

Austin Ladd scored a bucket inside to cap a 24-4 run for Advance (24-5) in the opening 3 minutes, 59 seconds of the game. Each team tallied 10 points through the remainder of the quarter, which ended with the Hornets holding a 34-14 advantage.

Advance sophomore Armani Vermillion scored 11 of his team-high 25 points in the first quarter and -- perhaps more importantly -- was the stalwart for a defense that forced Oran (15-14) to turn the ball over seven times in the first eight minutes.

"He came to play tonight," Hornets coach Bubba Wheetley said about Vermillion. "We let back at times, but I give Oran credit. They've got a really good ball club, and they broke us down some."

The Eagles regrouped to begin the second quarter, trimming their deficit to 13 points when Cole Priggel's 8-foot jumper concluded a 12-5 spurt with 3:56 to go before halftime. The Hornets extended their lead to 19 before Blake Schlitt capped an 11-4 run that pulled Oran within 12 inside the final minute.

Mayo scored 13 of Advance's 19 second-quarter points, including a bucket in the low post that gave the Hornets a 53-39 lead heading into halftime. His play around the basket proved to be the difference when the Hornets struggled to knock down shots from outside the paint.

"I've talked all year to these kids about how we've got to have an inside presence, and someone's got to step up," Wheetley said. "Dawson had a great night inside, I thought. He did a good job of just wanting the ball, and he finished pretty well."

Oran coach Joe Shoemaker attributed part of his team's slow start to a lack of experience in meaningful games. The other part was all about the Hornets.

"I think we were a little starstruck in the beginning," Shoemaker said. "Give the credit to Advance. They came out and were very aggressive, and we were a little bit flat, kind of just looking around.

"I'm very proud of my kids, my seniors. They've given me a great four years, and they didn't give up. They could've given up a long time ago, but we kept making runs."

Advance went ahead by as many as 20 points in the third period when Vermillion knocked down a pair of free throws at the 4:19 mark, but the Eagles quickly countered.

Junior Max Priggel drained a 5-foot jumper that capped a 12-2 Oran run and pulled the Eagles within 10 points with 1:55 remaining in the quarter. He finished with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-16 (63 percent) shooting, scoring 23 of his points in the second and third quarters combined.

"We play very unselfish, and he was getting the ball in transition. And he was just attacking the rim," Shoemaker said about Max Priggel. "... He kind of put us on his back there for a while."

The Hornets responded with a 14-3 burst that extended into the fourth quarter and all but sealed the victory. Vermillion provided half of Advance's fourth-quarter scoring. He finished 7 of 12 (58 percent) from the field and was 10 of 14 (71 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Hornets shot 68 percent (13 of 19) from the floor in the opening period but limped to a 47-percent clip (28 of 60) to finish the game. They shot 37 percent (15 of 41) through the final three periods.

Advance finished 22 of 31 (71 percent) at the free-throw line, while Oran knocked down 11 of its 13 chances (85 percent).

Preston Wuebker had the hottest hand for Advance. He shot 7 of 9 (78 percent) from the field, missing only one of his four 3-point attempts. He finished with 19 points, while teammate Brian Whitson chipped in 14 points.

Cole Priggel tallied 15 points for the Eagles, while Jacob Shoemaker notched 11 points. Oran shot 28 of 60 (47 percent) from the floor.

After the game, Wheetley was complimentary of the Eagles and had nothing but high praise for the opposing coach.

"I think the world of Joe Shoemaker," Wheetley said. "He did a heck of a job when he was at Advance, and he's doing a heck of a job right now. He's got a good ball club.

"They're going to be good for several years. I think the world of his parents -- good people. He's just a class act."

Oran loses three seniors from this year's squad, including senior starter Garrison Mangels. Preston Hahn and Blake Schlitt are the other two seniors, but the Eagles should benefit from the return of four starters, including two sophomores and a freshman.

"They did a lot of things that you don't see on the stat sheets, whether it be in the offseason or just being a good teammate or rebounding and doing the dirty work," Shoemaker said about his seniors. "We're going to miss them a lot.

"We're going to have to have some other guys step up. We do have a lot of guys returning, but if we don't get in the weight room and get in the gym this summer, we won't like the results next year."

Advance moves on to face Gideon in a Class 1 sectional at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at Bloomfield High School.

"Coming into this game, I was really, really nervous," Wheetley said. "I think I was more nervous for this game than the last two years. I just felt like the last two years we weren't supposed to win. This year we were supposed to win, and it put a lot of pressure on us. And I thought the kids really stepped up and accepted that challenge.

"Of course, you see what they did."

Oran 14 25 18 13 -- 70

Advance 34 19 21 14 -- 88

ORAN (70) -- Max Priggel 30, Cole Priggel 15, Jacob Shoemaker 11, Layne Johnson 8, Garrison Mangels 4, Blake Schlitt 2. FG 28-60, FT 11-13, F 21. (3-pointers: Shoemaker 2, M. Priggel 1. Fouled out: None.)

ADVANCE (88) -- Armani Vermillion 25, Dawson Mayo 20, Preston Wuebker 19, Brian Whitson 14, Austin Ladd 7, Dakota Welty 3. FG 30-63, FT 22-31, F 15. (3-pointers: Wuebker 3, Vermillion 1, Welty 1, Whitson 1. Fouled out: None.)