Hornets swarm Oran defensively and earn C2D3 W

BLOOMFIELD – Veteran Advance High School boy’s basketball coach Bubba Wheetley knew full well what he was going to see out of Oran in the Hornets’ game with the Eagles on Wednesday. After all, Oran had beaten Wheetley’s team just eight days ago.

However, Advance jumped on Oran early and never relented defensively, as the Hornets earned a 54-45 win in the semifinal of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 3 Tournament at Bloomfield.

“I guess they were just hungry tonight,” Wheetley said of his team’s fast start.

The Hornets (22-6) took a 17-8 first-quarter lead and never gave the lead back.

“We played very well,” Wheetley continued, “and so did Oran. It was a battle all the way.”

The Eagles were always within striking distance throughout the game, but never REALLY close enough to be a serious threat, and the Hornets’ defense had a lot to do with that.

“I thought we defended really well,” Wheetley said. “We handled the ball well. Oran outrebounded us a little bit, but besides that, we played a good, solid ball game.”

The Hornets had beaten the Eagles 61-59 early in the season, but Oran (16-11) had rebounded (literally and figuratively) late in the season and won four straight entering Wednesday’s test.

However, after averaging nearly 60 points per game this season, Advance never allowed the Eagles to get remotely close to that amount.

“Everyone did their job,” Wheetley said, “and mostly defensively. We’ve been talking about defense. You have to defend. You are not going to shoot good every night. You’ve got to be able to stop teams from scoring.”

Hornet senior Hayden Laird led his team with 17 points, while senior Colton Silman chipped in 15.

“Hayden attacks the rim very well,” Wheetley said. “He’s got a good jump shot. When he is doing that, he is at his best, because he is breaking the defense down.”

Advance senior Jaxon Limbaugh added nine in the win.

Oran got 14 points from senior Robby Menz, while senior Kolten Payne added 10, and junior Elijah Shoemaker had nine in the defeat.

Advance will now face top-seed Greenville (22-1) in the championship game on Friday at 6 p.m.

The Bears have never won an MSHSAA District title, while Advance won five straight between 2014 and 2018, but none since.