Ten different players scored for Republic Thursday, as the Tigers sprinted past Neosho 63-43 and into the district championship game.
Republic outscored Neosho 21-5 during a big second quarter to take control, and the Wildcats never seriously challenged the rest of the way. One of the biggest plays of the first half came in the final ten seconds. Neosho missed the front end of a one-and-one, Republic quickly pushed the ball to the other end, and Ty Stevens hit Mitch Coiner in the corner for a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Republic a 20-point lead, 37-17.
“We knew to start the game we had to come out aggressively and take care of business early,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “For us to get out in a lead and build on it in a second quarter, then the five-point swing…right before half was huge to set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Coiner led the Tigers with 12 points, all on three-pointers. Tim Brazeal scored 11 before coming out of the game, along with most of the other starters, for the fourth quarter. Tristan Ollar, back in the starting lineup for the first time in several weeks, responded with a seven-point night. Brady McGill, Travis Sly, and Cameron Doke each scored six. Ty Stevens had five, Blake Fanning had four, and Jace Duvall and Brock Yocum scored three apiece.
The win also featured some of the best shooting of the year for the Tigers, who seemingly couldn’t miss during their red-hot second quarter. That carried over to the defense, as well, according to Fisher.
“Any time that ball goes through the net, it raises the level of play defensively. At this time of year, you just hope you have those nights more often than not,” Fisher says. “Hopefully that confidence continues tomorrow.”
The lopsided scored allowed Fisher to rest his key players before they turn around and play Friday night.
“Any time you play back-to-back, obviously you’ve got to be conscious of legs. They’re young kids–they should be fine. But you always want to prevent against injuries or fluke things, so when you have the opportunity to do that, I think it’s good,” he says.
The Tigers advance to the district title game Friday against Nixa, who beat Willard 55-30 in the other semifinal. Republic is 14-12. Nixa is 26-1, ranked #2 in Class 5.
The setup for Friday is reminiscent of two of the biggest upsets in Republic basketball history, in the district tournaments of 1988 and 2006. In ’88, the Tigers hosted a district semifinal game, eliminating a 26-1 Ozark team that was considered a shoo-in for a trip to Columbia. In 2006, Republic pulled a similar upset, knocking off Willard, who entered the game with a perfect 26-0 record.
District championship night will feature two Republic/Nixa matchups. The Lady Tigers meet the Lady Eagles at 6 pm and the Tigers and Eagles square off at 7:30. Both games will be broadcast live at RepublicTigerSports.com/Live.