Charleston boys basketball team outlasts Advance in Christmas tournament quarterfinal

With 3 minutes, 2 seconds remaining in a quarterfinal of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, Advance senior Austin Ladd dropped the ball through the net and was fouled. His free throw pushed the fifth-seeded Hornet's lead over No. 4 Charleston to five, their largest of the second half.

But the Bluejays (5-4) found a way, with the help of a few lapses from the Hornets, to come back and avoid the upset with a 72-68 victory on Monday night at the Show Me Center.

"It's tough, but I'll give them credit, they outscrapped us, they beat us on the boards," Advance coach Bubba Wheetley said. "They turned up the intensity there in the fourth quarter, I thought, too. We made a few mistakes, but I'm proud of the way our kids played, I really am. To me, overall, this was one of our better games we've played as far as never quitting, playing hard the whole game. I'm proud of the way they played."

After Ladd's 3-point play, a runner by Kelvondre Moore sparked a seven-point spurt by the Bluejays.

A 3-pointer by Tenerrious Ewing -- after several offensive boards by Charleston -- capped the run and put the Bluejays up 66-64 with 1:53 to play.

"I thought we had a few breakdowns on our matchup," Wheetley said. "Right there with three minutes left we give up a couple layups, and that really hurt us, too."

Brian Whitson, who finished with 25 points, tied it with a pair of free throws six seconds later before Moore put Charleston back up with a jumper.

Charleston's Demarcus Sharp drives down the court in the first quarter against Advance, Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, during the second day of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. (Laura Simon)

The Hornets fouled three times to finally get in the bonus and send Ewing to the line for a one-and-one with 37.9 seconds left.

Ewing missed and Whitson was fouled on the other end, re-tying it at 68-all with free throws with 31.7 remaining.

Preston Wuebker then fouled Dontarius Sharp immediately, which was not part of the Hornets' game plan. Wheetley immediately turned to Wuebker and said, "What'd you foul for?"

Sharp hit both free throws in a one-and-one to give Charleston the lead for good.

"He says he didn't foul, but it looked like to me he fouled on purpose," Wheetley said with a smile. "I don't know."

Advance called a timeout with 23.7 left on the clock to draw up a final play, but never got the ball inbounds. The Hornets were hit with a quick five-second violation.

Charleston head coach Danny W. Farmer heads to the locker room for half time, Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, during the second day of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. (Laura Simon)

"We didn't get open, but I did think it was a little fast," Wheetley said.

Demarcus Sharp, who finished with 15 points, was fouled and sank two free throws for the final score.

Advance held a 53-49 lead going into the fourth quarter and the Hornets were held to two field goals in the final eight minutes of the game. They knocked down 11 of 13 free throws in the final period.

"Their defense, they turned up the intensity and they made us work for everything we got," Wheetley said. "You've got to give them credit. They're quick and we struggled getting some good looks in that fourth quarter."

Advance head coach Bubba Wheetley directs his team from the sideline during the final two minutes of the Hornets game against Charleston, Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, during the second day of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. Charleston won 72-68. (Laura Simon)

Advance held a 17-16 advantage at the end of the first quarter after a 3-point play by Dawson Mayo with 8 seconds left, and the Hornets used a 10-2 spurt over the first 3:07 of the second quarter to extend the lead to 27-21.

The Bluejays cut it to two, but another 10-2 run gave Advance its largest lead at 37-27 with 2:10 left in the half. The last five Hornets points in that stretch came on a pair of FTs after Charleston coach Danny Farmer was issued a technical and then on the ensuing possession Wuebker knocked down Advance's seventh 3-pointer of the half.

Charleston scored the final nine points of the second quarter to cut the Hornets' lead to 37-36 at the break.

"Just their speed. Their quickness, their defense," Wheetley said of the challenges Charleston presents. "You've got to really take care of the ball against them and we had several turnovers. And not that we were afraid, just their quickness. Their hands, they're quick. We tried to dribble it through some traffic and you're not going to against teams like that."

Charleston took its first lead of the second half at 45-43 and never led by more than four.

The Hornets' only two 3-pointers of the second half came in the final three minutes of the third, including one by Wuebker, who finished with 18 points, in the closing seconds of the quarter.

Mardareyon Clark had 17 points to lead Charleston. Moore added 15.

The Bluejays advance to face top-seeded Jackson at 6 p.m. today.

Advance (6-2) will play No. 8 Woodland in a fifth-place semifinal at 3 p.m.

"They played hard the whole game, and like I said, I was very pleased with that. Just never gave up, never quit, and I don't think we will. I don't know," Wheetley said when asked what he wanted his players to learn from the loss. "We've just got to get ready for [Tuesday]. We've got a big game tomorrow and we've got to come back. This'll tell what kind of team we really have if we can step out here tomorrow and get a win."

Advance 16 20 13 23 -- 68

Charleston 17 20 16 15 -- 72

ADVANCE (68) -- Armani Vermillion 2, Dakota Welty 7, Preston Wuebker 18, Brian Whitson 25, Austin Ladd 5, Dawson Mayo 11. FG 12, FT 17-19, F 12. (3-pointers: Wuebker 4, Whitson 3, Welty 2. Fouled out: None.)

CHARLESTON (72) -- Dontarius Sharp 9, Kelvondre Moore 15, Demarcus Sharp 15, Mardareyon Clark 17, Jeremy Tucker 4, Tenerrious Ewing 10, Clifford Johnson 2. FG 22, FT 10-13, F 19. (3-pointers: De. Sharp 3, Do. Sharp, Moore, Ewing. Fouled out: None.)