Republic jumped out to an 11-0 lead over undefeated Cardinal Ritter Saturday, but couldn’t deliver the knockout blow. The Lions’ defensive pressure was too much down the stretch, as the Tigers lost for the first time this year, 51-47 at the Ozark Mountain Shootout at Glendale.
It was a battle of state-ranked teams. Republic is #8 in Class 5, and Cardinal Ritter is #1 in Class 3. The teams had a combined record of 9-0 coming into Saturday's matchup. For the first eight minutes, it looked like Republic might run away with it.
The Tigers spread the Lions defense and used crisp passing to get easy looks at the basket. On the defensive end, Republic contained Cardinal Ritter's quick lineup of guards and got the Lion big men in foul trouble early.
Devon Ward had a big first half, helping Republic control the boards and scoring seven of his 11 points before the break.
But the Lions stepped up their defensive pressure in the 2nd quarter, and it took a while for Republic to respond. Cardinal Ritter outscored the Tigers 18-10 in the 2nd quarter and trailed by only one point at halftime, 21-20.
Republic outscored the Lions 11-10 in the 3rd quarter to take a 32-30 lead. From there, both teams settled into a back-and-forth slugfest. Cardinal Ritter took its first lead, 36-34, about midway through the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands several times down the stretch. Republic led 45-44 with 3:15 remaining, but Cardinal Ritter outscored the Tigers 7-2 the rest of the way to win it.
Coach Trevyor Fisher says it came down to the defensive pressure and quickness of Cardinal Ritter causing problems at key moments for the Tigers.
“Ultimately, turnovers cost us the game. We played hard. We did things we were supposed to do defensively,” Fisher says. “We gave ourselves a chance to win the game. They just made a few more plays down the stretch.”
Even though the Tigers suffered their first loss of the year, Fisher says the game was a good gauge of his team early in the season.
“Those two guards are about as good as we’ll play all year, maybe except for the Tournament of champions,” Fisher says. “I was proud of the way we started the game. They hit some tough shots there in the 2nd half, but a lot of it was our turnover that led them to get easy baskets on the other end.”
Treydon Rackley led Republic with 12 points. Ward ended with 11. Broc Smith and Caleb Singley had six each. Cameron Doke had five. Ty Stevens scored four. Mitch Coiner added three.
Cardinal Ritter improves to 7-0. Republic falls to 3-1. The Tigers host Parkview on December 13.
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Crackerjack Shack Player of the Game
When the Tigers were playing their best, Devon Ward was a big reason why. He was a force on the boards and scored seven of his 11 points in the first half when Republic was controlling the tempo, and he’s our Player of the Game.
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