Advance's Below drops 49 points on Oran in 76-61 win

It was already a special night for Advance senior Lane Below.

The standout guard was celebrating senior night, his last time playing on his home court, and was honored before the game commemorating his 1,600 points in his career as a Hornet.

What Below did next goes down in the storybooks.

The senior dropped 49 points to help Advance (16-9) cruise past district foe Oran 76-61 Tuesday night.

"I've scored a pretty good amount of points before, but I've never felt that much in sync," Below said. "It just felt great playing tonight. I don't know. I just had it going tonight."

Oran’s Jacob Priggel looks to shoot between Advance’s Zane Eggimann, left, and Dawson Mayo during the third quarter Tuesday in Advance, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

As Below exited the locker room, it was evident from the fans' reactions that they just witnessed a special moment in Advance basketball history.

Several young kids were anxiously waiting to shake the star's hand. One walked up, bear-hugged Below and said, "You got 49."

"He was absolutely great," Advance coach Bubba Wheetley said. "He came out with intensity, senior night, we give him the award for the points. I just think it picked him up, he just took over and he carried us all the way."

On a night where several storylines could have played out, Below trumped them all.

Below was 13 of 18 from inside the 3-point line and 5 of 6 from downtown.

He didn't miss a 3-pointer until his last attempt with 3 minutes, 27 seconds left in the game.

"They just came out hot," Oran senior Seth Ressel said. "I don't know how many 3s Lane made, but I think he only missed one. So when you have that and you have your home court, it's pretty hard to beat."

Below added an 8-of-10 clip from the charity stripe.

"He shot the ball well," Oran coach Joe Shoemaker said. "He penetrated well. He just outplayed us."

It was all Below, and it was mostly all Hornets.

Oran (19-7) played tough in the opening eight minutes, battling to a 14-12 deficit after one, but the Hornets quickly took control.

Advance led 16-14 a minute into the second quarter but used a 9-2 run to take a 25-16 lead and settle in.

"I think they handled our press pretty good. I knew they would because they have good ball handlers," Wheetley said. "We kind of backed up three-quarter and half court and just collapsed and just got after it, and I think that made a difference. We got some turnovers and made them rush shots and got on a little run. That's what it takes."

Oran cut it to 29-25 with three minutes left in the first half, but Advance closed on a 15-5 run.

The Hornets rode the run and Below's 28 first-half points to a comfortable 44-30 lead at the break.

Despite playing without senior leader Chance Tenkhoff -- he suffered a season-ending leg injury against Bloomfield on Feb. 11 -- for only the second game, Oran responded in the third quarter.

"We're a completely different team without him," Shoemaker said. "But we're without him the rest of the year, so there is no excuses. So we just have to get better."

Oran trimmed the 14-point halftime lead to a 46-38 deficit two minutes into the third.

"They just attacked," Wheetley said of the Eagles. "They're winners, they've been in here for three years. They've beaten us the last three years in the district championship. These kids are winners, so I knew they weren't going to let up."

Advance stretched the lead back to 57-45, but Oran once again cut the lead to 62-55 before facing a 64-55 deficit going into the fourth.

"We cut it back to nine, we had a couple silly turnovers and we just didn't execute defensively well at all," Shoemaker said. "Like I said, Lane just dominated us tonight."

Advance ended it quickly in the final eight minutes.

The two teams traded baskets to make it 66-57 Advance before the Hornets used a 10-0 run to make it a 19-point lead and send the seniors home happy.

Below capped off his night with nine points in the final quarter.

"Everybody really wanted to go out with a bang," Below said. "Oran beat us earlier in the season by 30 points at their place. We just really wanted to come out tonight and show them we're not going to lay down and we're coming for them."

The two teams will attempt to capture the Class 2 District 3 crown when tournament play starts Saturday at Chaffee.

"We've been playing well that past four or five games, and we knew we couldn't let it stop tonight," Below said. "We knew we had to come out tonight and keep the momentum rolling into districts and I think that's what we did tonight."

Oran 12 18 25 6 -- 61

Advance 14 30 20 12 -- 76

ORAN (61) -- Max Priggel 2, Preston Hahn 2, Thomas Trankler 9, Jacob Priggel 18, Seth Ressel 14, Garrison Mangels 1, Hunter Schlosser 13, Eric Westrich 2. FG 18, FT 10-15, F 15. (3-pointers: Trankler 1, J. Priggel 1, Ressel 2, Schlosser 1. Fouled out: none)

ADVANCE (76) -- Zane Eggimann 2, Austin Miller 6, Garrett Walker 4, Lane Below 49, Eli Seger 1, Alex Morse 4, Dalton Wilson 4, Dawson Mayo 6. FG 22, FT 11-16, F 16. (3-pointers: Miller 2, Below 5. Fouled out: none)