Bloomfield 'keeps competing,' rallies from BIG deficit to top Advance

Bloomfield High School senior guard Caleb Upchurch drives to the basket and draws contact from Advance High School sophomore forward Brodie Rodgers on Friday at Bloomfield.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

BLOOMFIELD – Statistically, the Bloomfield High School varsity boy’s basketball team is playing its best defense since the 2016-17 season, though, in fairness, it sure didn’t appear that way through 16 minutes of guarding Advance on Friday at the historic Bloomfield Gymnasium.

The Wildcats trailed the Hornets 29-16 early in the third period but outscored them 32-11 in the second half to secure a 48-40 win.

“I told the kids to just keep competing,” second-year Bloomfield coach Ben Sindle explained of his halftime speech. “Don’t give up. That is one thing that I am really proud of.”

The Wildcats (5-2) exhibited tenacity – eventually – but it also helped that they had Caleb Upchurch.

The senior guard scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, as he continually drove into the paint for mid-range shots, got to the basket, drew fouls, finished through contact, and got out in transition for breakaways to score.

“(Upchurch) does a really good job of getting back to his right hand (for drives) always,” second-year Advance coach Dalton Wilson explained. “You have to force him left and he is very strong.

“He has a really good touch.”

Advance (1-4) was very effective defensively in the opening half, as it built its double-digit advantage.

The Wildcats got offense from just two players in the opening quarter and three players in the first half. Advance limited the hosts to just six second quarter points.

The Bloomfield offensive balance has been hampered by an ankle injury to senior starter Kayden Craft, who has been injured for all but one game this season. He is expected to be out, perhaps, until mid-January.

“It all leads back to Kayden,” Sindle said of his team’s offensive structure. “We use the term a lot ‘Adversity brings opportunity.’ So, a lot of our guys now, have an opportunity to step up in their role.”

Bloomfield got offensive production from senior Lawles Graser (six points), and junior Lane Grigery (nine points), while senior Cole Hartlein knocked down a 3-pointer. However, each of the seven Bloomfield athletes who played contributed to holding Advance to a mere 11 points in the second half.

“We lost focus,” Wilson said of the second half. “We didn’t make shots. We fell in love with the ‘3’ when we should have gone to the basket. But when we got to the basket, we missed layups.

“We just completely fell apart.”

The Hornets did have offensive balance, as six different players scored, led by 6-foot-4 sophomore Brodie Rodgers, who had 11 points.

Advance juniors Morgan Swinford and Jameson Hamlin each added eight points while senior Remington Pixley had six points, junior Hunter Rodgers had four points, and junior Jacob Jones chipped in three.

“The mindset of changing this culture,” Sindle said of the growth of his program, “if you are down 13 points, it is not going to be a blowout. You can still play competitively with anybody.”

Advance will face Cape Central (4-3) on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the opening round of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center.

Bloomfield will open its 68th annual Christmas Tournament against Risco (5-1) at 8 p.m. on Thursday.