As the fourth quarter began, Republic seemed poised to win another Blue & Gold championship game, this time against Springfield Catholic. But the Irish stepped up their intensity, the Tigers went cold, and Catholic came from behind to win 46-42.
Republic led 36-28 heading into the final period, but for the next seven minutes and 54 seconds, the Tigers failed to score a field goal. Their only point was a free throw by Tucker Thomas, which gave Republic a 37-33 lead. From there, Catholic reeled off nine straight points to grab a five-point lead. A late three-pointer by Broc Smith cut the lead to two, but the Irish finished out the victory at the free throw line.
“Ultimately, we were the tougher team for the first three quarters, and then they just manhandled us in the fourth quarter,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “We didn’t rebound in the fourth quarter. We were soft with the ball on offense, and just had way too many turnovers, and some drives that we weren’t under control.
“But for the most part, we competed. We just had a bad fourth quarter and it ended up costing us the game.”
Broc Smith finished with 11 points for Republic. He was the only Tiger in double figures in scoring.
Ian Cochran, the 6’7″ Catholic center, led all scorers with 13 points. Nine of those came in the second half. Jake Branham added seven fourth-quarter points to fuel the Irish comeback.
Republic falls to 8-3. The loss ends the Tigers’ seven-game winning streak. It also ends a nine-game Blue & Gold win streak for the Tigers, who had won the championship a year ago, and finished out the 2015 tournament with two wins in taking fifth place.
Friday was a bad day for the COC Large. In the Gold Division semifinals, Ozark lost to Rogersville. In the White Division Finals, Mountain Grove beat Nixa to capture its first-ever Blue & Gold championship. The Republic loss was the third in a row by a COC Large team to finish out the tournament.
Individual Scoring
Broc Smith, 11, Trent Rackley 8, Tucker Thomas 7, Race Looney 5, Hunter Creek 4, Drew McMillin 3, Jaden Duvall 2