The Republic Tigers jumped on top early and led most of the way through three quarters, but couldn’t hold off a late charge by St. Louis Soldan, and fell in the state’s Class 4 3rd-place game, 62-55. Republic’s 4th-place state finish is the best for a Republic boys basketball team in three decades.
After shooting less than 30% from the field against Kearney Friday night, the Tigers hit 50% of their shots from the floor against Soldan. They led 20-7 after the 1st quarter, 29-23 at halftime, and 40-39 after three periods. Their halftime total of 29 points was just a basket short of their 31-point output against Kearney for the entire game Friday.
Soldan relied on physical defense to climb back into the game. They forced 25 Republic turnovers, including 10 steals. Those turnovers offset a very good job on the boards by Republic. They out-rebounded a much bigger Soldan team 33-15.
Offensively, Soldan relied on a monster game from leading scorer Brier West. West poured in 34 points, including three 3-pointers. Paul McRoberts added 12.
Kevin Stander led Republic with 18 points. Nick Yocum scored 12, Josh Morrow had 10, and Jonathan Combs had 9. Dylan Fletcher and Brody Thompson scored three apiece.
The Tigers end their season with a record of 20-10.
In the championship game, Kearney handed St. Francis Borgia its first loss in two seasons, knocking off the defending state champs 47-43 to take the title.