Rackley’s Bombs & Repmo Defense Sink Carthage

Trent Rackley shot the lights out and Republic’s defense continued its commanding play in a Central Ozark Conference road win Friday night, 48-35 at Carthage.

Republic allowed just eight points in the first quarter and just seven points in the second quarter. At that point, Republic had a streak of six consecutive quarters — and eight of its last ten quarters — in which it had held opponents to less than 10 points. The Tigers have done it without Broc Smith, who’s been on the bench nursing an ankle injury.

“That’s probably been the most encouraging thing, losing some size and rebounding and length on the defensive end,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “But our guys bought into it, and if we continue to guard, we’re always going to have a chance. We’re always going to talk about defense first, and once again that was able to carry us through.”

Trent Rackley caught fire from the outside to help Republic take control in the first half. Rackley finished with a game-high 22 points. He had five three-pointers, three of them in the first half. Tucker Thomas also finished in double-digits with 12.

“Everything always looks better when shots go in on the offensive end, and that that happened early tonight, which is huge,” Fisher says.

Arkell Smith led Carthage with 15 points.

Republic improves to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in the COC. The fast conference start with Smith on the bench has been a good test for the team, according to Fisher.

“I think it’s allowed other guys to be able to realize what they’re able to do. So when Broc gets back, brackets back that will hopefully help us even more. It’s huge anytime you can get a road conference win.”

Individual Scoring
Trent Rackley 22, Tucker Thomas 12, Drew McMillin 7, Race Looney 3, Jaden Duvall 2, Hunter Creek 2

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