Nick Yocum led the way for Republic with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. He had 15 in the first half. Canyon Smith added 10. Marcus Miller and Jake Fletcher scored 8 apiece. Grant Hancock had 7. Payton Looney and Dylan Bekemeier had 6 apiece, and Cody Geiger scored 4 for the Tigers.

Desmond Buerge scored 27 points for Carthage to lead all scorers.

Republic gave up the first seven points of the game, but ripped off eight in a row to take the lead. They trailed again at 9-8, but never lost the lead the rest of the way. It was 18-13 after one quarter, and 38-32 at halftime. The Tigers built an 11-point lead midway through the 3rd quarter before Carthage closed the gap down the stretch. The margin was down to 55-50 by the end of the third quarter.

Carthage gradually closed the gap to one point with about 12 seconds left, and had a final crack at the win. Payton Looney committed a foul, forcing Carthage to take the ball out of bounds with 4 seconds left, setting up the final defensive stop.

Both teams are now 18-4.

The JV team beat Carthage 67-46.

Before the varsity game, Taylor Wells was crowned 2012 Courtwarming Queen.

Share on Facebook

All nine of Miller’s points came in the first quarter, as the Tigers built a big early lead. Miller started the scoring with two free throws in the first minute, and ended the quarter with 9 points. The Tigers led 9-0 at one point, and 24-10 after one period.

The Tigers ran the lead to 49-26 at halftime, and led 68-34 by the end of the third period, triggering a continuously running clock in the fourth.

Nick Yocum added 12 points for the Tigers. Jake Fletcher and Payton Looney had 8 apiece. Canyon Smith scored 6, Zach White added 4, and Pierce Pittman, Derric Mertes, and Ty Abney scored 2 apiece.

Trey Robinson had 10 points to lead Central.

Republic is back in action Friday for homecoming against Carthage. The night will include a chili supper and silent auction hosted by the Tiger Pride Band, starting at 5 p.m.

Share on Facebook

Cory Lafferty scored 15 points, including 7-for-7 from the free throw line, to lead Republic. Brady McGill added 10 for the Tigers.

Carthage jumped to an 9-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Republic came back to lead 16-11 at halftime. It was 26-23 Republic heading into the fourth quarter, and Carthage briefly took the lead with about three minutes left in the game. But McGill drained a key 3-pointer down the stretch, and the Tigers hit all six of their free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Share on Facebook

Republic scored just 7 points in the first quarter and 17 in the first half, but trailed only by two at halftime. Both teams opened the game with cold shooting. The Tigers failed to hit a 3-pointer in the entire first half, and Rogersville missed several easy buckets inside.

At halftime, coach Gary Stanfield says his biggest adjustment was reminding his players of things they already knew. “It’s thing that we’ve worked on, and you’re going to be frustrated if you don’t do those things,” he says. “It’s all about spacing and decision-making. We’ve struggled a little bit with that, but hopefully we’ve turned the corner.”

The action picked up in the 3rd quarter, at least for the Tigers, who outscored the Wildcats 12-7 in the period. Republic’s outside game finally got going, as Nick Yocum and Canyon Smith hit 3-pointers. Going into the final quarter, Republic led 29-26.

Down the stretch, it was Republic free throw shooting that made the difference. The Tigers finished the game 19 of 22 from the free throw line.

Republic improves to 16-4 this season. Perhaps more importantly, they are 6-0 against their three top district rivals, Marshfield, Rogersville and Hillcrest.

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

Republic struggled offensively in a sloppy first half for both teams. The Tigers didn’t score until more than five minutes into the game on a Cody Geiger bucket. The Tigers trailed 20-14 at halftime.

But after the break, Republic’s guard play excelled. Payton Looney scored 7 points and Nick Yocum had six, on two 3-pointers, in the third period, as the Tigers nabbed a 31-25 lead going into the final quarter.

The defense continued to apply pressure on the Blue Jays, allowing only 7 points in the fourth quarter as Republic pulled away.

Nick Yocum had 13 points and Cody Geiger had 10 to lead Republic in scoring.

The Tigers advance to play Rogersville in the tournament championship game Friday night at 9 p.m. The Tigers beat the Wildcats in the Republic Invitational at the beginning of the season.

Share on Facebook

Photo courtesy Rodger Wheeler, Republic Monitor

Republic hit a sizzling 61% from the floor in a 68-46 win over Camdenton in the opening round of the Rogersville Tournament. The Tigers drained 11 3-pointers in the victory — including six by Nick Yocum.

The Tigers leapt in front early, and the game was never really in doubt after the first few minutes. Republic outscored Camdenton 23-8 in the first quarter, and led 36-11 at halftime. They extended the lead to 54-24 after three quarters, before Camdenton closed the gap before the final buzzer.

Yocum led the Tigers with 20 points. Marcus Miller scored 9, Payton Looney added 8, and Jake Fletcher and Pierce Pittman scored 7 points apiece.

Kullen Carlock scored 22 points for Camdenton to lead all scorers.

Share on Facebook

After the freshmen and JV teams won their games by a combined 80 points, the stage was set for the varsity Tigers to make quick work of the Wolves. But Republic started slowly, and didn’t score a field goal until about five minutes into the game, when a Jake Fletcher layup gave the Tigers a 5-2 lead.

From there, Republic stretched the lead slowly, to 11-4 at the end of the first quarter, and 29-14 at halftime.

The Tigers came out with a lot more energy in the 2nd half, and that’s when they put the game away. Republic scored ten straight points — eight of them by Nick Yocum — to stretch their lead to 39-14 in the early part of the third quarter. They never looked back from there.

Nick Yocum scored 11 to lead the Tigers’ balanced attack. Cody Geiger and Grant Hancock had 10 apiece. Jake Fletcher scored 9. Pierce Pittman and Payton Looney each scored 5. Marcus Miller and Ty Abney had 4, and Canyon Smith added 2.

Republic improves to 13-4.

Share on Facebook

Nick Yocum led the early attack with four 3-pointers and 14 points in the first quarter. Yocum finished the first half with 16, and had 23 for the game.

Payton Looney added 15 first-half points for the Tigers, who led 52-23 at halftime.

The Tigers hit eight 3-pointers for the game, including five from Yocum. Waynesville had seven.

Yocum’s 23 points led all scorers. Looney had 15. Marcus Miller and Canyon Smith added nine apiece.

The win improves Republic’s record to 12-4.

Share on Facebook

“We extended our defense 84 feet and got some immediate results, and it probably fueled our offense,” said coach Gary Stanfield.

Marshfield came into the game seeking revenge for a two-point loss in the Blue and Gold Tournament semifinals. But it was Republic who charged out with something to prove, having lost four of its last five games. The Tigers bolted to a 19-4 lead, then answered a Marshfield run that closed the gap to one point, 33-32 at halftime.

Coming out of the break, Nick Yocum hit a 3-pointer and Marcus Miller converted a traditional three-point play. Marshfield closed the gap to six points briefly, but the Tigers were off to the races from there.

Republic built its lead to 51-40 going into the fourth quarter, then scored seven straight to start the final period, stretching the lead to 18 at one point.

Five Tigers scored in double figures. Yocum led the way with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Four of those 3-pointers came in the 1st quarter.

Marcus Miller and Jake Fletcher had 13 apiece. Payton Looney scored 11 and Cody Geiger added 10.

The result is another key victory against a district opponent for Republic, who has defeated Marshfield twice, and Hillcrest and Rogersville once.

“Somebody is going to be up on the top, and everyone else is going to be clawing and trying to knock them down,” said Stanfield. “We’re struggling to get ourselves back in a position that we want to be in.”

Share on Facebook