Republic’s first quarter was probably his worst offensive quarter in several seasons. Tristan Ollar scored to start the game off and the Tigers looked tentative against a bigger, quicker Waynesville lineup. They didn’t score again until about midway through the second quarter.
But the second half was a different story, starting with the first play of the third quarter.
“There was one play that changed the whole game, and that was the first play of the third quarter–Jace getting a steal and setting the tone right from the get-go,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “It could have gone one of two ways in the second half. We could have pouted and put our heads down and gotten blown out by 40, or we could have battled and did what we did there. From that standpoint, hopefully the light bulb clicked and we can move forward and make progress.”
In the second half, Republic outscored Waynesville 34-21. They did it without leading score Brock Yocum, who missed the game with an injury. Brady McGill and Tim Brazeal were also both fighting illness and had missed practice Wednesday. McGill still managed to score a season-high 18 points. Ollar had nine and Brazeal added eight.
“With Brock being out, we’re very limited on guys that are guys who can go by defenders and make plays. In the second half, he decided to do be aggressive and get to the basket. That’s what he can do, but he’s got to be able to do that consistently,” says Fisher.
Fisher says he hopes his team takes a lesson from their second-half performance as they head into the stretch run of their season.
“I don’t know if the light bulb clicked or what. When you exert that much energy and play that hard, good things usually happen. We just played care-free in the second half. That’s easy to do when you’re down 20 points,” he says. “At the same time, we kept battling all the way to the end and made a game of it. I’m not into moral victories, but I can live with the effort and level of play in the second half.”
Mitchell Coiner scored five points for the Tigers, including a big three-pointer that put Republic in striking distance in the final minute. Ty Stevens and Duvall scored two apiece.
The Tigers held Indiana signee Juwan Morgan to 15 points. Reggie Walker added nine for Waynesville, who improved to 13-3.
Republic falls to 7-8. Their next game is in the opening round of the Rogersville Tournament next Thursday, when they’ll meet Jefferson City Helias in a rematch of last year’s state semifinal game, won by Republic in triple overtime. Tipoff for that game is 6 p.m.