Branson used a big second half to break open a close game and pull away from Republic Tuesday night, 57-45.
The Tigers stayed close in the first half, despite committing eight turnovers. They led for much of the first quarter, until a 3-pointer at the buzzer put Branson on top 11-10. In the second quarter, Republic battled back to tie the game by halftime, 22-22.
But turnovers began to take their toll in the third quarter, along with second-chance points for the Pirates. Branson outscored Republic 17-7 in the 3rd period, sprinting out to a 39-29 lead. They pulled ahead by 15 in the 4th quarter, and the Tigers never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Kevin Stander led all scorers with 20 points. Nick Yocum scored 13 for the Tigers, including 10 in the second half. Jonathan Combs added four points, Josh Morrow scored three, Nick Dibben and Dylan Fletcher scored two apiece, and Grant Hancock had one point.
6’5″ junior Avery Dingman scored 15 points to lead the Pirates. Dana Thomas had 12, Tee Helsel had 11, Chris Ogden added 9, and Sam Pugh had 8 for Branson.
The Pirates improve to 21-2, and Republic falls to 15-6.
Go to the Republic Tiger Sports broadcast page to listen to the archived broadcast.