The Republic Tigers beat Rogersville 47-45 Thursday to capture the Rogersville Tournament championship.
The Tigers grabbed a 3-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Stander, but then went cold from the field. Rogersville rattled off nine straight points before Republic scored again, and at the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats led 11-6.
Republic closed the gap in the 2nd quarter, and finally tied the game on a 3-pointer by Nick Yocum with just under two minutes left in the half. A Connor Smith layup gave the Wildcats the lead again, and Rogersville went into the halftime break with a 17-15 lead.
The Tigers opened the 2nd half with a 3-pointer by Dylan Fletcher, grabbing their first lead since the 1st quarter. The teams traded buckets for the next few minutes before Kevin Stander buried a 25-footer to give the Tigers a 27-26 lead. He hit another 3-pointer on the Tigers’ next possession, and a Dylan Fletcher 12-foot jumper completed an 8-0 run for the Tigers. At the end of three periods, Republic led 32-29.
Republic scored the first four points of the final quarter to grab a 7-point lead, and hung on the rest of the way. Key free throws down the stretch by Jonathan Combs, Brody Thompson, Stander and Yocum helped seal the victory. A 3-pointer in the final seconds cut the lead to two points, but Republic didn’t have to in-bound the ball, and let time expire.
Kevin Stander led the Tigers with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Nick Yocum added 11, and Josh Morrow chipped in with 9.
Republic improves to 15-4 with the victory.
The JV team lost a close one to Rogersville in the 3rd-place game of the JV tournament, 64-61.