Marshfield’s Lucas Clift torched Republic for 21 points in the second half as the Blue Jays knocked off the Tigers 69-55 Friday night. Clift finished the game with a game-high 26 points to lead Marshfield to the non-conference win.
“Defensively, it wasn’t a very good effort,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “They kicked our butts inside, to be honest. It’s not only our big guys guarding, it’s helping the post, digging in the post, and being active. We let have way too many easy touches, especially on out-of-bounds plays.”
Republic held a one-point lead after one quarter, 16-15, but went cold in the second quarter and didn’t shoot very well the rest of the way. At halftime, Marshfield led 27-25. The Blue Jays took control early in the third quarter.
“They hit a couple shots, and we had sloppy turnovers and allowed them to get easy buckets, and they went on that little spurt there,” says Fisher. “We did a decent job of coming back, but when you exert that much energy to try to get yourself back into it, a lot of things have to happen and it’s hard to get over that hump.”
Brock Yocum had 23 points in a losing cause, and kept the Tigers in the game until the final two minutes. Tim Brazeal was also in double figures with 11 points. Brady McGill and Tristan Ollar scored six apiece. Mitch Coiner had five, and Blake Fanning and Jace Duvall each scored two.
For Marshfield, in addition to Clift’s 26 points, Bradley Welsh had 15 and Dallas Crider had 13.
Republic falls to 7-7 this season. Marshfield is 7-6. The Tigers are off for six days, and travel to Waynesville for a game next Thursday.