DISTRICT BASKETBALL: Advance, Bernie focusing on here and now prior to potential rematch

The Bernie Mules used big second-half comebacks twice this season to beat Advance in battles between two of the top-ranked teams in Missouri Class 2.

The Mules beat Advance 71-52 to win the SCAA Basketball Tournament and wrapped up the SCAA regular-season championship with a 63-51 victory last Wednesday at Bernie.

If the seeds hold true in Class 2 District 3, the two teams would meet again in the championship game. Bernie received the No. 1 seed, and Advance was seeded No. 2 for a tournament that begins Saturday at Bloomfield High School.

Bernie coach Jason Long didn’t want to talk about the potential rematch Thursday, as his team prepared for a Friday night matchup against Saxony Lutheran.

“We’ve got to win a game before we play Advance,” Long said. “Our focus is on Saxony Lutheran (Friday) night, then we’ll turn our focus to districts. Whoever we play in the first round — Oran or Oak Ridge — we’re going to have to prepare to compete well in the game.”

Advance coach Bubba Wheetley agreed.

“Right now, we’re taking it one game at a time,” Wheetley said. “You can’t overlook anyone. … We can’t overlook Bloomfield (after playing Puxico on Friday night). We want to get better every game.”

Advance, who was ranked above the Mules in the state coaches rankings until Bernie’s victory in the SCAA tournament, held comfortable leads in the first halves of both matchups this season.

The Mules, who are ranked No. 7 in the most recent state rankings, overcame an eight-point deficit after one quarter to beat unranked Advance in the championship game of the SCAA Tournament.

The Mules rallied from a 12-point second-quarter deficit to beat Advance 63-51 to win their second outright SCAA regular-season championship in three years.

“I hope they are (fired up for a rematch). I am,” Wheetley said. “We played them good for 2 1/2 quarters (in the tournament) and three in the next one. This time we want to play them well for four.”

Wheetley can’t explain why his team went flat during each of the teams’ previous matchups.

“We’re working on it right now,” Wheetley said. “We come out in the third quarter and we’re a whole different team. We get sloppy, make bad passes. I don’t know what it is. We get stale and don’t shoot well. Bernie keeps coming at you. They have some good shooters. If they hit shots they can come back in a hurry.”

The Hornets made a lineup change between their games against Bernie. Junior Jack Bailey was plugged into the starting lineup after the teams’ first meeting.

“We’ve got more beef in there,” Wheetley said. “We’ve struggled all year with the fifth man. It’s been someone different every night. If we play a team with a little more quickness, we’ll go with quickness. If we play a bigger team, we’ll go with size. Right now, we’re sticking with Bailey.”

The Mules will open tournament play at 6 p.m. Tuesday against the winner of the Oran-Oak Ridge first-round game. Fourth-seeded Oran and fifth-seeded Oak Ridge will meet in the first round at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Advance opens district play with a first-round game against No. 7 Bloomfield at noon Saturday. No. 3 Meadow Heights and No. 6 St. Vincent will meet in the other first-round game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The winners will meet in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The Mules (23-1)  carry a 14-game win streak into Friday’s game at Saxony Lutheran. Long credited his players’ work ethic for their success.

“They do a good job of taking it day by day,” Long said. “I’ve got a good group of kids. They like to play basketball. We’ve been fortunate to be able to come to practice every day and continue to work.”

Advance (19-5) has won seven of its previous 10 games, including the two losses to Bernie and one to Dexter.

The Mules are seeking their second district championship in three years. They won the District 1 championship in 2020 before falling  42-35 to Thayer in the sectional round.

The Hornets hope to win their first district championship since 2018 when they advanced to the state quarterfinals where eventual state champion Eminence beat them 78-62.