A lot of things went right for Republic when they knocked off Nixa during a regular-season matchup a few weeks ago. On Thursday night in the district championship game, a lot of things went wrong. The Tigers stumbled out of the gate, fell into a big hole, and never righted themselves in a 64-41 loss at Joplin.
Republic struggled to attack Nixa’s big 2-3 zone defense in the opening minutes, and Nixa jumped ahead 16-2 by the end of the first quarter. The Tigers eventually warmed up on offense, but not before the deficit was too big to overcome.
“Our Achilles heel all year has been playing against big zones,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “You can prepare for it all you want, but you can’t simulate that in practice, having such big bodies all across the floor. It just didn’t go our way tonight. They’re a good team and you’ve got to give them credit.”
The loss was a disappointing ending to a wonderful season for the Tigers, who out-performed expectations to win 21 games despite starting no one taller than 6’2″.
“Tonight’s game is no indication on how our season went,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “I’m proud of every single one of them — how they stuck with the script after losing those first two games.
“I’m really proud, especially of the seniors. Each one of those guys had a little bit different story. Tristan was just a warrior every night against taller guys. We accomplished great things. put ourselves in position to win a conference title, district championship, and I’m just really proud of the way we battled all season long.”
Thursday marked the last game in a Tiger uniform for Ollar, Tyler Phillips and Alex Holden. The rest of the team will return — including Treydon Rackley, who scored 21 points to lead Republic Thursday night. Ollar added ten. Ty Stevens had six. Cameron Doke and Caleb Singley added two each.
Republic ends its season with a 21-7 record. Nixa advances to the state sectionals next Wednesday in Springfield.