Republic’s Ty Stevens caught fire in the first half and Nixa (#9 Class 5) ended up getting burned. Stevens rained down bomb after bomb on the Eagles in a blistering first half, sparking the Tigers in a 56-50 win Friday night at home.
Stevens scored 18 points before halftime and 25 for the game. He had six three-pointers in all, as Republic improved to 18-4 overall. Nixa falls to 18-4.
“I wasn’t really feeling it in warm-ups, but that doesn’t usually matter to me,” Stevens says. “Usually when I hit my first shot, I keep going. I’m feeling good about myself. Especially when I hit my first three and I kept getting open, every time, it just felt right. It felt good the whole night and I kept shooting.”
The offensive explosion by Stevens outshined another great defensive effort by the Tigers, who held 6’7″ senior center Chase Allen to two points in the first half and nine overall.
“He’s a monster. Not one single person can guard him alone,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “We did a pretty good job on team defense. We have to give up something, as far as doubling down and leaving one of their shooters open. Luckily, they missed just enough for us to be successful.”
Republic built a 16-10 lead after one quarter with a balanced attack. Five different players scored. The second quarter belonged to Stevens. He made four three-pointers and scored 13 points to help Republic stretch its lead to 31-22 at halftime.
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Stevens says he loved playing in front of a big, rowdy crowd from both schools.
“It was great: both student sections, tons of fans,” Stevens says. “You’ve got fans cheering for you and when you get on big runs, everybody gets hype. We get hype. It’s definitely a great atmostphere. I love it.”
Nixa pounded the ball inside in the third quarter, getting seven points from 6’6″ Garrett Bacon as they out-scored Republic 15-9 and cut the lead to 40-37. Stevens says Fisher had prepared the Tigers for Nixa’s inevitable run.
“Coach Fisher said at halftime, ‘They’re going to make a run. It’s just how you respond and how much poise you have and how you finish out the game.’ We just tried to stay calm and get the job done.”
Nixa closed the gap to one point, and had the ball with a chance to take the lead at one point, but the Tigers got a defensive stop and never trailed down the stretch. Tyler Phillips, Tristan Ollar, and Treydon Rackley all contributed driving layups in the final minutes as the Tigers ran clock and kept the Eagles at bay.
Nixa attempted a three-pointer that would have tied the game with just under a minute to play, but the shot was off-target and Republic grabbed the rebound. With 23.3 seconds left, Devon Ward hit one of two free throws, making it a two-possession game. After another Nixa miss, Stevens hit two more free throws to nail down the win.
“I think most people kind of under-estimate us, but we keep coming back and showing them that we can beat these teams,” says Stevens. “We know every game that we can beat these teams. We always have that mindset and I think that’s what always helps us.”
In addition to Stevens’ 25 points, Tristan Ollar and Mitch Coiner contributed ten. Treydon Rackley and Cameron Doke scored four each. Tyler Phillips scored two and Ward scored one.
Republic is now 4-0 in the COC with games remaining at home against Willard and on the road at Branson and Ozark. Their next game is Tuesday — their final home game of the season.